DfT uses cover of Christmas to announce rail fare rise | UK News

Millions of rail users face fare rises of up to 4.9% next year, the Department of Transport has said.

The cap on regulated rail fares – which covers most season tickets, some off-peak return tickets and flexible tickets for city networks – will rise by that much on March 3.

Fare rises are usually tied to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation as measured in July, which this year was 9.0%.

The government said it intervened to make the next rise ‘significantly lower’ than it would have been otherwise.

Ministers previously capped fare rises at 5.9% in 2023 in response to the cost of living crisis, shielding passengers from potential rises of around 12%.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures – the more commonly used headline statistic tracking price rises – show inflation was 3.9% in November, its lowest level for more than two years.

The fall is much bigger than was expected and has fuelled expectations of a similarly sharp drop in interest rates next year.

Since fares will not rise until March, passengers can buy season tickets for the rest of the year at current prices if they make their purchase in the next couple of months.

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, called the move a ‘significant intervention by the government to cap the increase in rail fares below last year’s rise’.

But Labour branded it ‘another brutal bumper rise in rail fares’.

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: ‘With passengers facing record delays and cancellations and delays, this is an insult to millions. Labour will reform our broken railways and finally put passengers first.’

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