6.2% rise in Rail fares

Rail fares to rise by 6.2% in January

AUGUST 15, 2012 

Some rail fares in England will rise by 6.2 per cent in January — about double the rate of inflation — although other price rises may be higher.

The Retail Prices Index  measure of inflation in July — which stood at 3.2 per cent — is used to calculate the rises.

Some English fares will rise by RPI plus three per cent, while in Scotland they will go up by RPI plus one per cent. Wales has yet to set a figure for its increase.

The extra money is helping to fund huge investment across the network.

There are no fare increases currently planned in Northern Ireland , where fares are not linked to RPI, after a three per cent rise in April.

The decision to have different formulas for fare rises is a political one. In Scotland , 75 per cent  of the cost of the railways comes from a government subsidy — higher than in England .

The figures for planned rises in England and Scotland are an average across regulated tickets, which make up half of all fares. These regulated fares include season tickets and off-peak intercity journeys. In Scotland, this does not include the busy shuttle service between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Some passengers could see their journey prices rising by more than the average, as train companies are allowed to increase them by up to five percentage points more, as long as they cut ticket prices elsewhere.

Passengers will not be told yet how prices will change on their specific route. The latest figure sets the template for this rise.

Those who travel across a border, such as from Scotland to England, will be subject to the higher English fare rises.

Mike Hewitson, of watchdog Passenger Focus, said, “This is another inflation-busting increase.

“There is only so much you can squeeze passengers. The government needs to think again about the plus  three per cent [formula].”

BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott says passengers and taxpayers used to split the cost of running the railways, with both sides paying about half each, but successive ministers have cut the amount of government funding and that has resulted in regular fare rises.

The latest rise means fares in England will have gone up by more than inflation for 10 successive years, resulting in some of the most expensive train journeys in Europe although some tickets booked well in advance can be cheap, our correspondent adds.

Craig Anderson-Jones, from Salisbury, says, “I earn an average wage. Not great, but not minimal, yet I pay 8.5 per cent of my pre-tax wage on train travel alone. That is £1,784 a year.

“Put on top of that the cost of childcare — nearly £600 per month — and my bills are nearly £1,600 per month. To some, not much — to me, a lot. I can’t even afford to get on the property ladder, so I have to rent.

“I don’t actually think I could afford to get to work if this keeps going on

“Ultimately I will be forced to move to a closer location. The cost of driving to work and parking all day makes it even more expensive to get to work.