Comment on the announcement that rail fares will rise by 3.1% from January 2019

30 November 2018

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, says:

“Many passengers, still reeling from summer timetable chaos and frustrated by ‘autumn’ disruption, won’t believe fares are going up again! Until day-to-day reliability returns – with fewer significant delays and cancellations – passenger trust won’t begin to recover.

“Passengers now pour over £10 billion a year into the rail industry alongside significant government investment, so the rail industry cannot be short of funding. When will this translate into a more reliable railway and better value for money for passengers?

“It’s also time for a fairer, clearer fares formula based on a calculation that uses the Consumer Prices Index, rather than the discredited Retail Price Index.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Rail fares for 2019 were confirmed today by the The Rail Delivery Group

Transport Focus has published some tables that show fare rises for a selection of regulated and unregulated fares – season, anytime, and off peak – across the country.

These are available to download along with sheets describing the routes selected.

Press queries: contact Hannah Pearce (hannah.pearce@transportfocus.org.uk) on 07918 626 125 or call the press office 0300 123 2170.