Rail fares could rise by a significant amount next year, adding to the misery for millions of travelers

18 August 2024 , 16:01

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Rail fares could rise by a significant amount next year, adding to the misery for millions of travelers

Commuters and other train passengers could see ticket prices jump by another 3.6% next March, on top of a near 5% rise earlier this year, piling more financial pain on travellers already enduring widespread delays and cancellations

Rail fares could jump by 3.6% next year in another blow to millions of passengers.

Increases in train ticket prices each March have historically been linked to the previous July’s Retail Prices Index measure of inflation. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show RPI stood at 3.6% last month. Any such rise next March would follow a 4.9% hike in regulated fares - such as season tickets and off-peak travel - earlier this year. 

This year’s increase could have been much higher as RPI last July stood at 9%. However, the Department Transport chose to cap the rise. The Department was keeping tight-lipped about what rise it would allow from next March, with a decision expected later this year.

A spokesperson said: “The Transport Secretary is delivering the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation, to provide better services for passengers, while saving millions of pounds in fees paid to the private sector. No decisions have been made on next year’s rail fares but our aim is that prices are as affordable as possible for passengers.” 

Critics are hoping passengers will see more for their money under the Labour government, which has vowed to bring most train operators back under public ownership. Johnbosco Nwogbo, lead campaigner at the public ownership campaign group We Own It, said: “Passengers are feeling hopeful about the future of our railway. For 30 years, passengers have paid higher and higher fares, yet we continue to face endless cancellations and shoddy service.

“The government has now set our railway on the right track. But rail nationalisation must tear down the current profit-oriented fares policy and build something new from the ground up. British passengers pay some of the highest fares in Europe. So while improvements to the punctuality and cleanliness of trains are important, our railway cannot truly be considered fixed until train tickets are affordable.”

Emily Hughes