Words that always make me grimace are “Rail Fare” and “rises”. Well, the Department of Transport (who are bringing you Zero Air Passenger Duty on flights), are allowing fare rises – capping rises at 3.8%
CrossCountry Voyager, Avanti Pendolino and a Transpennine Express Desiro at Manchester Piccadilly – expect the fares on these to jump – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
The rises will go into effect from 31st March 2022.
The only small thing that’s a benefit is the rise could have been as high as 7.1% – with train fares normally pegged by the retail price index (RPI) rate plus 1%.
This covers regulated fares – eg, season tickets, open returns and so on. Operator-set tickets (such as Advance tickets) fall outside of this normally and rise by however much a train company desires.
In Quotes
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said:
Capping rail fares in line with inflation while tying it to the July RPI strikes a fair balance, ensuring we can continue to invest records amounts into a more modern, reliable railway, ease the burden on taxpayers and protect passengers from the highest RPI in years.
Delaying the changes until March 2022 offers people the chance to save money by renewing their fares at last year’s price. That includes the 100,000 people who are already making savings with cheaper and more convenient flexible season tickets.
We’re driving ahead with the reforms in our Plan for Rail, creating a more passenger-focused railway that delivers a truly first-class service for everyone.
Andy Bagnall, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group, said:
The government’s decision to hold fares down in line with July’s inflation is welcome compared to last year’s above-inflation increase and the rate of inflation right now.
It is important that fares are set at a level that will encourage more people to travel by train in the future, helping to support a clean and fair recovery from the pandemic.
We know the railway must not take more than its fair share from the taxpayer, which is why the rail industry is working to create a financially sustainable and more passenger-focused service – that will both keep costs down long-term and attract people back to the train.
Prepare to pay up if you want to take the steel wheels
Expect rises to hit regional rail routes too – Northern Class 195 trains at Manchester Piccadilly – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
Whilst the government touts its options – including flexible season tickets and book with confidence policies, there is no getting away from the fact that prices for rail travel are going up.
It comes as the HM Treasury is trying to reduce its costs – whilst demanding cuts across the board to save money – hardly a winning way to attract more passengers.
And of course – who foots the bill? The passenger of course. This comes at a time where trains are being cancelled due to staff shortages.
I also remind you that Rail Travel (apart from Eurostar) is domestic only. Guess what’s being axed soon? Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights – making flights at least £12 cheaper.
Whilst that number is a fraction of what the rail fare rise could bring, it isn’t enticing to the passenger who will have to reach deeper into their pockets to ride on a train…
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