Rail fares held below inflation for third year running

Rail fares are set to be held below inflation for the third year in a row, despite the fact they are set to rise an average of 2.7% next year.

On average, for every £1 spent, 98p of this is put back into the cost of running the railway. Freeing up public money to fund improvements projects.

Since 2012, this will be the fifth time that rail fares have been held below the July RPI rate of inflation; a method used by the government to make changes to around half of all fares.

Together with major upgrades to railway infrastructure, as well as the introduction of new trains across the UK the Rail Delivery Group are working to provide a more comfortable, reliable and better-connected railway which in turn will boost the UK’s economy. Next year, passengers are set to benefit from:

• Scotland: A £120million major redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street Station will be completed and the redevelopment of Aberdeen Station will begin.
• North of England: new and upgraded trains will be delivered for passengers travelling with TransPennine Express, Merseyrail, LNER, Northern, Hull Trains and Grand Central.
• Wales: £40 million train upgrade programme will continue with 186 more services running on Sundays.
• Midlands: A new half-hourly service between St Pancras International and Corby will be introduced, 180 new trains with space for 50,000 additional passengers to and from Birmingham will start to run, and Wolverhampton Interchange will also open as part of a £150 million transport hub.
• East Anglia: £1.4 billion investment in 169 new trains on Greater Anglia and a £27 million route upgrade allowing longer trains to run between Cambridge and King´s Lynn. Track upgrades will enable 10 extra freight trains per day to run to Felixstowe, removing up to 760 lorries from the road.
• South West: quicker, more regular services following planned timetable change and £80 million upgrade of the sea wall in Dawlish.
• London and South of England: 90 new trains on South Western Railway and construction will start on the £150 million upgrade of Gatwick Airport station.

Alongside the improvements, the industry is proposing changes to the outdated fare system; in order to provide an easier to use and better value fare system which will better reflect how people live and work.

The average overall increase includes all national rail fares and will come into effect on 2nd January 2020. Individual fares can be viewed on the National Rail Enquiries website and tickets for 2020 can be bought online and at ticket offices now.

What did the officials say?

Paul Plummer, the Rail Delivery Group’s Chief Executive, said:

“We understand that no one wants to pay more to travel, which is why train companies have for the third year in a row held the average fare increases below inflation while still investing to improve journeys. Passengers will benefit from 1,000 extra, improved train carriages and over 1,000 extra weekly services in 2020 and the industry will continue to push for changes to fares regulations to enable a better range of affordable, mix and match fares and reduced overcrowding on some of the busiest routes.”

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