Subsequent rail fares rise shall be beneath RPI fee of inflation, authorities vows

Any rise in rail fares in England subsequent yr shall be beneath the Retail Prices Index (RPI) fee of inflation, the federal government has promised.

The RPI determine – which is a measure for inflation – for July is because of be launched on Wednesday and often helps decide the price of practice tickets for the next yr.

But the Department for Transport (DfT) promised that any will increase shall be beneath that so as “protect” passengers from cost of living pressures.

The anticipated hike in costs may even be delayed till March 2024.

It follows an identical announcement final yr, when ministers stated ticket will increase would as a substitute be linked to common earnings development in July 2022, which was 5.9%.

However, that also amounted to the biggest fares hike in more than a decade when the brand new costs got here into power earlier this yr.

A DfT spokesman stated: “Following last year’s biggest ever government intervention to cap rail fare increases well below inflation, we’ll continue to protect passengers from cost of living pressures and we will not increase next year’s rail fares by as much as the July RPI figure.

“Any enhance may even be delayed till March 2024, briefly freezing fares for passengers to journey at a cheaper price for the whole thing of January and February as the federal government continues with its plan to halve inflation.”

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But stress group Campaign for Better Transport stated ministers ought to as a substitute preserve fares unchanged “in recognition of the burden high fares place on rail passengers”.

Chief govt Paul Tuohy stated: “The authorities ought to freeze rail fares – as they have done with fuel duty – till the long-promised ticketing reform takes place.”

The DfT stated particulars about subsequent yr’s fares shall be introduced at a later date.

Meanwhile, common earnings development within the three months to June was up 7.8% year-on-year. The determine for July shall be printed on 12 September.

It comes amid ongoing issues concerning the state of Britain’s rail community, months of disruption due to rail strikes, and heavily-criticised proposals to close nearly every railway station ticket office across England.

Anthony Smith, chief govt of watchdog Transport Focus, stated: “Nobody likes their fare going up, but after a year where many journeys have been blighted by disruption due to industrial action and patchy performance, passengers will be relieved to hear that fares will be capped below the RPI and any increases will be delayed until March next year.”

The Scottish and Welsh governments are but to announce their insurance policies for rail fares subsequent yr.