Rail fares rise 3.1% at the end of a miserable year for travellers

Constituents of the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, who commute from Epsom to London see their annual season tickets rise by £64 to £2,104

Rail passengers hoping to get home from London Paddington late on Thursday found themselves still stuck at the station on Friday morning, because of what Great Western Railway said was a “broken down train”.

Travellers on the GWR route to South Wales and the West of England – along with millions of other passengers, especially in southeast and northwest England – have endured a dismal 2018.

And at the end of the worst year for rail disruption in a decade, commuters in England and Wales will start the New Year paying 3.1 per cent more for train tickets – without any certainty that services will improve.

Train fares will rise from 2 January 2019 fractionally less than the July 2018 calculation of the Retail Price Index (RPI), which was 3.2 per cent. This largely discredited measure of inflation is used to specify the increase in “regulated” rail fares. These are season tickets in the London area, anytime tickets around major cities and many off-peak return tickets on long-distance journeys.

Constituents of the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, who commute from Epsom to London will see their annual season ticket rise by £64 to £2,104.

Between Brighton and London – on a line that has seen strikes, engineering disruption and mayhem triggered by the botched introduction of new timetables – commuters can expect to pay an extra £148, taking the price of an unrestricted annual season ticket to £4,844.

Train operators are allowed some latitude in setting fares so long as the overall average increase is 3.2 per cent.

Between Bristol and Bath, a one-way anytime ticket for the 11-minute journey rises by 30p to £9 – a rise of 3.4 per cent. On the much longer trip from Swansea to Cardiff, the fare increase is also 30p, to £11.70 – up just 2.6 per cent.

An off-peak return ticket on the Virgin Trains service between Manchester and London goes up from £86.90 to £89.60, a rise of 3.1 per cent. But an unregulated one-way anytime ticket on the same route increases by £6 to £175, a rise of 3.6 per cent.

One-way fares between Manchester and Bolton are remaining flat at £4.40. Northern Rail passengers have experienced a very high level of disruption, with an overrunning electrification project and strikes taking place every Saturday for the rest of the year. But an annual season ticket rises by £32 to £1,052.

In Scotland, increases are capped at RPI minus 1 per cent. From Dumbarton to Glasgow, the increase is in line with the 2.2 per cent rise: just 10p to £4.70.

But other fares are going up by much more. On the most popular inter-city journey in Scotland, from Edinburgh to Glasgow, the rise is 50p to £14.90, representing an increase of 3.5 per cent.

The fare from Dundee to the Scottish capital rises from £18.05 to £18.90, a jump of 4.7 per cent.

Britain’s most expensive rail fare is a first-class anytime return from Penzance (and several other Cornish stations) to Thurso (and some other stations in the far north and west of Scotland). It rises by £20 to £645, an increase of exactly 3.2 per cent – in line with the inflation figure from last July.

Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said: “Nobody wants to pay more to travel, especially those who experienced significant disruption earlier this year.

“Money from fares is underpinning the improvements to the railway that passengers want and which ultimately help boost the wider economy. That means more seats, extra services and better connections right across the country.”

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “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 £10bn 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 Price Index, rather than the discredited Retail Price Index.”

The Labour chair of the Transport Select Committee, Lilian Greenwood MP, said: “After the year passengers have had, any increase in rail fares is going to be unwelcome. But 3.1 per cent – the largest increase we’ve seen since January 2013 – represents a real kick in the teeth.

“About one in five users of the railway suffered weeks of chaotic services after the badly botched timetable change in May and for some passengers, the pain persists.”

Back at Paddington, Dr Barbara Brockway tweeted: “I am not a frequent traveller but journey disruptions like this frequently happen to me. Ticket prices are extortionate & many travellers have to stand to & from Swindon.

“After the millions spent to electrify this line (which will be late), it is time GWR got its act together!”