Government hikes train fares by 4.6% and increases cost of railcards

Rail fares in England will be hiked by an inflation-busting 4.6 per cent next year.

The rise, buried in the small print of Rachel Reeves’s Budget, will send the cost of many commuter season tickets soaring by hundreds of pounds.

The price of most railcards, including for army veterans and elderly people, will also be hiked by £5. Only those for disabled passengers will be exempt.

It comes after Labour handed bumper pay rises to rail workers - including train drivers - and amid their plans to overhaul the network by re-nationalising it.

In the run-up to the election, now Transport Secretary Louise Haigh insisted the party had ‘no plans’ to hike fares while claiming that its re-nationalisation plans would not cost anything.

The Tories’ transport spokesman, Helen Whately, said: ‘Labour haven’t even nationalised the railway yet and fares are already going up.

Read More

Entrepreneurs break down on live TV after hike in National Insurance forces them to cut costs

‘To keep fares down you’ve got to modernise but they’ve already caved in to the unions. We said passengers would pay the price for Labour, and they already are.’

Paul Tuohy, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: ‘Raising rail fares above inflation and hiking the cost of railcards is a kick in the teeth for people who rely on public transport, especially those on low incomes.’

The hike will send the cost of a season ticket between London and Winchester soaring by £296 to £6,728.

Between Lewes, in East Sussex, and London it would jump by £250 to £5,682 and by £208 to £4,724 for a season ticket between Guildford, in Surrey, and the capital.

The increase in fares is one percentage point above July's Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, which has historically been used by officials to adjust the annual increase cap.

It only applies to regulated fares, which account for about 45 per cent of tickets.

These include season tickets on most commuter journeys, some off-peak returns on long-distance routes and flexible tickets for travel around major cities.

Train operators set rises in unregulated fares, but usually increase them in line with the cap set by ministers on regulated ticket prices.

A Budget document published by the Treasury claimed that the 4.6 per cent rise will be ‘the lowest absolute increase in three years’.

It also stated that the Government will ‘agree’ to a £5 increase in the price of most railcards ‘subject to an industry proposal’.

Railcards, which generally cost £30 a year, save users an average of up to £158 annually.

Andy Bagnall, boss of Rail Partners, which represents operators, said: ‘Government should set fares at a level that will ultimately encourage more people to travel by train in the future…The focus must be on growing passenger numbers, not making current passengers pay more.'