1.9 percent increase in regulated rail fares across England, Scotland & Wales

Regulated rail fares will increase 1.9 percent across England, Scotland and Wales next year with the figure determined by July’s Retail Prices Index (RPI). The rail industry gives its reaction…

Paul Plummer, Chief Executive at the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said:

“Nobody wants to pay more to travel to work and at the moment in some areas people aren’t getting the service they are paying for, and we know how frustrating that is. But increases to season tickets are set by government. For every pound paid in fares, 97p goes back into running and improving services and it’s our job to make sure that money is spent well.

“We need to sustain investment to build a modern railway, and money from fares helps us to do this, which is crucial with rail now more important to our nation’s prosperity than at any time since the Victorian era. In many places our railway is full, with passenger numbers having doubled in two decades, and we know passengers and the country need better services.”

London TravelWatch Chair, Stephen Locke gave his reaction: “Passengers will be relieved at the decision to cap average fare increases to 1.9%. But the past year has seen performance in some areas drop to an unacceptable level and the wait for the much-promised 15 minute compensation policy continues. This poor performance needs to be recognised – a one off payment to Oyster / Contactless Pay As You Go users and an extension to Season Ticket validities should be considered as a quick, easy and targeted way of doing this.

“There is also a lot to be done to improve the fairness and transparency of the system. There continues to be large and confusing variations in commuter fares, especially in and around the edge of London – for example, passengers travelling from Redhill, are sometimes paying more to travel into London than those travelling from Gatwick Airport Station, despite Gatwick being over five miles further out. There is a danger that the complexity of fares becomes a barrier to people taking up employment. We will continue to press the Government and rail industry to work towards a simpler, fairer and more unified fares structure across the London area.”