THE ANNUAL rail fare increase in England will be set at 4.9% for the coming year, with the increased fares coming into effect from March 3, the Department for Transport announced in late December.
Historically, the increase of regulated rail fares each year has been set in line with inflation, based on the Retail Price Index figure for the previous July, with the increased fare level usually either set no more than 1% above or below that rate.
However, the rate for the 2024 fare increase reflects the 3.9% inflation figure for December plus 1%, which the Government says is a ‘significant intervention’ against the RPI figure for July 2023, which was 9%.
Increases to regulated fares have traditionally been applied in January each year, but they will now be applied in England from March in the future.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Having met our target of halving inflation across the economy, this is a significant intervention by the Government to cap the increase in rail fares below last year’s rise.
“Changed working patterns after the pandemic means that our railways are still losing money and require significant subsidies, so this rise strikes a balance to keep our railways running, while not overburdening passengers.
“We remain committed to supporting the rail sector reform outdated working practices to help put it on a sustainable financial footing.”
In Scotland it has been announced that fares will increase by 8.7% on ScotRail from April 1, while the same increase has also been applied to Caledonian Sleeper services, although the increased fares for the sleeper service were applied with effect from January 1 and the increase does not apply to seated ticke
