• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Travel Travel News

‘Pricing the railways out of existence’ – first above inflation rail fares rise in eight years

The increase in the cost of rail travel “will not help commuters and city centres recover from the pandemic”.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
February 28, 2021
in Travel News
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

Rail passengers in England and Wales will be hit by above inflation fare rises on Monday.

Ticket prices will increase by around 2.6%, leading to accusations that the UK Government is “pricing the railways out of existence”.

The figure represents the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation from July 2020, plus one percentage point.

Passengers in Wales face a similar increase, whereas the Scottish Government is implementing smaller rises of 1.6% and 0.6% for peak and off-peak travel respectively.

RelatedPosts

20k enter UK a day with border ‘closed’ as Australia and New Zealand open bubble after stamping out Covid

‘Extremely unlikely’ that overseas summer holidays will happen this year

‘Kick in the teeth for the taxpayer’ as transport firm records huge rail profit despite £10bn industry bailout

You have got to be kidding! Rail closures planned on first weekend after stay-at-home order lifts

Examples of the potential fare hikes include a Brighton-London annual season ticket going up by £129 to £5,109 and a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rising by £2.30 to £90.60.

Exact prices will be released on Monday.

Fare rises in England have mirrored RPI since January 2014, but the Department for Transport (DfT) axed the policy due to the “unprecedented taxpayer support” handed to the rail industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rail franchise agreements

The UK, Scottish and Welsh governments took over rail franchise agreements from train operators in March 2020, following the collapse in demand for travel caused by the virus crisis.

This is expected to cost the Westminster Government alone around £10 billion by mid-2021.

Fares usually become more expensive on the first working day of every year, but the 2021 rise was deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bruce Williamson, of pressure group Railfuture, described the increase as “the usual annual punishment for rail passengers, just slightly delayed”.

He claimed the UK Government “should be encouraging the public to start using trains again” when lockdown restrictions ease.

“But instead they’re gradually pricing the railways out of existence,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense to kick the rail industry when it’s down.”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady warned that the increase in the cost of rail travel “will not help commuters and city centres recover from the pandemic”.

She said: “The Government needs a credible plan for the future of rail that gives passengers better value.”

The Liberal Democrats’ transport spokesperson Sarah Olney called for responsibility for setting rail fares to be handed to a new independent Railway Agency mandated to keep prices low.

She said: “It is appalling that yet again people are being hit by another grossly unfair Government-approved hike in rail fares.”

Rises in around half of fares – including season tickets on most commuter routes – are regulated by the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments.

Train operators determine increases in unregulated fares such as Advance tickets, but this year they are heavily linked to rises in regulated tickets as governments have taken on firms’ financial liabilities.

That means the overall average increase across England and Wales is around 2.6%.

Taxpayer support

A DfT spokeswoman noted that this is the lowest rise in four years “despite unprecedented taxpayer support for the rail industry”.

She went on: “By delaying the change in fares, passengers who needed to renew season tickets were able to get a better deal, and we will set our further plans to offer cheaper, more flexible tickets for commuters in due course.”

Robert Nisbet, director of nations and regions at industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said it is up to the Government to decide “how much it wants passengers to pay towards the cost of running the railway”.

He added that train operators want to give passengers “better value” by working with ministers to create a “new, more flexible” ticketing system.

Related: Quelle surprise! Train punctuality declines as passengers return

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

thunder ball results

Thunder Ball Results, Wednesday 14 April 2021

National Lottery Lotto Results – Wednesday 14 April 2021

Full list of MPs who voted against establishing lobbying committee

Northern Monk HonestBrew Field Days Pale Ale

Beer of the Week: HonestBrew x Northern Monk Field Days

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.