Train passengers 'punished' over massive fares price hike

This is despite train cancellations being among the highest they have been for 10 years, according to public transport campaigners.

The equivalent of 3.9% of services in England and Wales were cancelled in the year to February, just below the worst recorded rate of 4.1% in 2014.

The reliability of the rail service across the two countries has been hampered in recent months by strikes, infrastructure faults and severe weather.

A 4.9% fare increase tomorrow and a budget on Wednesday that will, if recent habit continues, freeze fuel duty again 🙁. We aren’t impressed. More at https://t.co/NXW0PSSQgu

We’ve been quoted in the Guardian… pic.twitter.com/u8RPOOBMpe

— Railfuture (@Railfuture) March 2, 2024

Passengers being 'punished' over massive fares hike

The price of an annual season ticket between Woking and London would increase by as much as £190, taking the cost from £3,880 to £4,070.

It would also see the price of flexi season ticket travel between Liverpool and Manchester (two days per week over a year) rise by £92.60 from £1,890 to £1,982.60.

Chris Page, who chairs pressure group Railfuture, said: “Why are rail passengers being punished year after year with inflation-busting fare rises?

“No matter that there’s a cost-of-living crisis, no matter that we’re facing a climate emergency, the Government seems more determined than ever to price us off the railway and on to the roads.”

It's that time of year again... Sunday's 4.9% rail fare rise comes as fuel duty is frozen for 13 years, losing £100bn that could've been invested in rail.

If Gov is serious about making public transport affordable, then it’s rail fares, not fuel duty, they should freeze. pic.twitter.com/KOWkujTWbw

— Campaign for Better Transport (@CBTransport) March 1, 2024

Campaign for Better Transport campaigns manager Michael Solomon Williams added: “At a time when we urgently need to encourage people to take the train, the public will rightly be angry to discover that it has just become even more expensive to do so.

“We know that people will decide to drive or fly if the train is too expensive, so this is bad news for our personal finances, the wider economy and the environment.”

Despite this, rail minister Huw Merriman previously said that the UK Government had attempted to "split the balance between the UK taxpayer and the fare payer” and described the prices as "well below inflation".

ORR figures revealed that the government had provided £4.4 billion of funding to train operators across the UK.

The Consumer Prices Index, a commonly used inflation metric, showed that inflation had dropped to 4% in January. The UK and Welsh governments have set the cap for regulated fares at 4.9%.