There’s no denying that avocados have sprung into the public consciousness over the past ten years pretty much out of nowhere, but despite all their health benefits I never thought that they would also be able to get me free train tickets.

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Bizarrely though, this is exactly what they can do now as Virgin Trains have launched the Avocard. This comes as a result of all 10,000 of the new Millennial Rail Card aimed at people 26-30 sold out immediately after they were put on sale yesterday – Virgin thought that they could still offer the same discount to people as long as they bought an avocado along to the station with them. The fruit was chosen because of its cult status among the age group.

Here’s what a spokesman for the company said (as well as an official tweet to prove that this is actually real):

Passengers who meet the criteria to qualify for a 26-30 railcard can bag themselves a discount on their journey with Virgin Trains on the West Coast by simply presenting an avocado at the ticket office, instead of the usual railcard, along with photo identification.

And after buying their tickets, the #Avocard can be enjoyed as a healthy snack!’

Completely ridiculous. I wonder if anyone is actually going to do this?

In any case, the discount it gets you doesn’t even sound that good – apparently it’s only for trains that run between 4:30 and 10:30 am on Monday to Friday and you can’t book in advance. Has to cost over £12 as well which isn’t ideal for those of you just looking to get to school or whatever.

For more of the same, check out why avocados aren’t even that great. Yeah, there’s a backlash coming.