Rail fare rises 2021: Ticket prices hiked by 2.6% despite low demand

1 March 2021, 08:19

Rail passengers in England and Wales have been hit fare rises of around 2.6 per cent, despite the collapse in demand caused by the pandemic.

The above-inflation ticket price increases have led 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.

The Scottish Government has imposed smaller rises of 1.6% and 0.6% for peak and off-peak travel respectively.

Examples of fare hikes include a Brighton-London annual season ticket going up by £128 to £5,108 and a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rising by £2.30 to £90.60.

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Demand for rail travel has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, with passenger numbers currently down 85% on normal levels.

Network Rail boss Sir Peter Hendy said last week that the volume of journeys by commuters may only recover to 60% of what it was before the outbreak.

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.

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 spokeswoman 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."

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.

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%.