Train passengers face potential 5.8% fares hike
The Government has not confirmed how it will determine the cap on regulated fare rises in 2026, but this year's 4.6% hike was one percentage point above RPI in July 2024.
If that formula is used to set next year's fare increase, the cost of train travel will jump by 5.8%.
That would mean an annual season ticket from Woking to London rising by £247 to £4,507.
A flexi ticket for travel two days per week over a year from Liverpool to Manchester would increase by £120.30 to £2,195.10.
Train punctuality in Britain is at its lowest level in more than five years.
Ben Plowden, chief executive of lobby group Campaign for Better Transport, said: 'Today's inflation figure could mean a big fare rise for rail passengers next year, especially if the Government decides to go with an above-inflation increase like we saw this year.
'With the railways now moving under public control, the fundamental question for the Government is how to use its role in setting fares policy to deliver a more affordable rail network and encourage more people to travel on it.
'Next year's annual rise represents the first real opportunity for the Government to show passengers – both current and future – just how it plans to do this.'
About 45% of fares on Britain's railways are regulated by the Westminster, Scottish and Welsh Governments.
They include season tickets on most commuter journeys, some off-peak return tickets on long-distance routes, and flexible tickets for travel around major cities.
Paul Kohler, the Liberal Democrats' transport spokesman, said using the same formula again would be 'nothing short of ludicrous', adding: 'Commuters are simply being taken for a ride.
'We simply cannot allow the current rate of inflation to set rail fares while services get worse.
'To increase rail fares at all in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis would be nothing other than a slap in the face to ordinary people.'
Mr Kohler urged the Government to scrap any plan for a rail fare rise to 'get more people onto the trains', while Conservative shadow transport secretary Richard Holden accused Labour of 'turning a blind eye to fare dodging'.
He said: 'Labour's election promises ring hollow as passengers are hit with inflation-busting rises on top of cancelled trains, driver shortages and chaos across the network.
'These fare rises are a direct result of Labour's disastrous economic mismanagement.'
The Department for Transport (DfT) said there will be an update on changes to regulated fares later this year.
Operators set rises in unregulated fares, although these are likely to be very close to regulated ticket increases because their decisions are heavily influenced by governments.
Office of Rail and Road figures show trains in Britain reached 66.7% of scheduled stops within a minute of the timetable in the year to July 19.
That is the worst performance since the year to May 30 2020.
Some operators are currently struggling with dry weather.
A lack of moisture in clay soil embankments has disturbed track levels, preventing trains from safely travelling at full speed in parts of south-west and south-east England.
A DfT spokesperson said: 'The Transport Secretary has made clear her number one priority is getting the railways back to a place where people can rely on them.
'The Government is putting passengers at the heart of its plans for public ownership and Great British Railways (GBR), delivering the services they deserve and driving growth.
'No decisions have been made on next year's rail fares but our aim is that prices balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers.'
The Government is nationalising train operators as their contracts expire.
GBR is an upcoming public sector body that will oversee Britain's rail infrastructure and train operation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
a few seconds ago
- Scottish Sun
Locals baffled by huge ‘zebra' ship sailing along the Scottish coast
The barge has been spotted off the coast of Fife in recent days Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LOCALS have been left baffled after a 'zebra ship' sailed along the Scottish coast. The unusual barge has now docked at Babcock Rosyth yard in Fife - but has nothing to do with its lookalike animal. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 The 'zebra ship' Sans Vitesse vessel anchored at Rosyth dockyard Credit: Andrew Barr The ship, which stands out due to its zebra stripe pattern, is called the Sans Vitesse. The barge is used for accommodation and will house Navy personnel while the HMS Queen Elizabeth undergoes planned maintenance at Rosyth Dockyard. However, not all of the crew will be staying on the ship. Those on the Sans Vitesse will solely be the duty watch who need to be close to the ship. The rest of the crew will be staying on the HMS Caledonia. A Royal Navy spokesperson said: "When ships go into refit periods there are occasions when it becomes necessary to source alternative temporary accommodation for some of the ship's company. "The health and wellbeing of our people remain paramount, and we make sure that accommodation is suitable and meets our standards, which this accommodation has. "The Sans Vitesse will provide suitable accommodation for our personnel while HMS Queen Elizabeth undergoes planned maintenance in Rosyth." Graeme Downie, the MP for Dunfermline and Dollar, added: "I have spoken to ministers over the past few days, and they have assured me the accommodation on Sans Vitesse is of the highest quality and suitable for personnel from HMS Queen Elizabeth while the ship is docked at Rosyth. I met husband on stranded cruise ship & got married after just four months – now we LIVE on board but there's surprising downsides 'However, I think we must also see work to upgrade and modernise HMS Caledonia to ensure the base is fit for purpose and has the facilities and services to accommodate personnel in the future and I will be pressing ministers and the Royal Navy further on this matter." HMS Queen Elizabeth has left Portsmouth as it makes it way to Rosyth where it will spend around seven months in dry dock. Essential sea trials are to be carried out before its arrival which will involve tests on the newly-installed navigation and propulsion control systems. The Royal Navy says the ship is currently undergoing the equivalent of a car MOT at the end of a busy six years, which included a major global deployment to the Indo-Pacific in 2021 and leading NATO operations across European waters. The first nine months of the overhaul has seen HMS Queen Elizabeth undergo engineering work in Portsmouth and the ship's company conduct essential training to be ready for sea trials – as well as development courses for sailors and officers. The second phase over the coming months will see the aircraft carrier placed in dry dock at the Babcock Dockyard which will provide the opportunity to inspect and improve systems inaccessible when the ship is afloat.
STV News
a few seconds ago
- STV News
Scotland lacking emergency response to drug deaths crisis, expert says
Scotland is lacking an emergency response to the country's drug deaths crisis, despite the Scottish Government describing it as an emergency, an expert said. Kirsten Horsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), said public policy was heading in the right direction. But she warned that 'intent without action' was the 'major problem' facing the country. Speaking during an event at the Festival of Politics at Holyrood chaired by SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll, Ms Horsburgh said drug legalisation should be 'on the table' as part of the solutions to the crisis. And she said safer drug consumption rooms, such as the one in Glasgow, should be rolled out 'at scale'. Ms Horsburgh told an audience at the Scottish Parliament: 'There are things we are doing well in Scotland and there are obviously things we are not doing well. 'The things we are doing well is finally reaching a point where we have the right policy direction. 'But policy intent without action, the implementation gap and pace are the major issues here.' She added: 'All these things require urgency. 'We've described the issue in Scotland as a public health emergency but what we've done so far is far from a public health emergency response – it's lacking in pace and attention that the issue really needs.' Ms Horsburgh said pilots such as the safer drug consumption room in Glasgow, the first of its kind in the UK, should be done 'at scale'. The SDF chief executive said policies such as drug legalisation should also be 'on the table', but admitted it was something unlikely to be looked at by the UK Government, which controls drug laws. Catriona Matheson, professor of substance use at the University of Stirling, also appeared on the panel. She said poly-drug use, the use of more than one drug by a person, was now common in Scotland. Prof Matheson said the Government had to adapt and respond quickly to a drug market that 'changes all the time'. The academic stressed the importance of 'psycho-social' support for people with addiction that could help get to the root of the issue, which the panel said included issues such as trauma, poverty and mental wellbeing. But she warned that 'previous negative experiences' from people seeking rehabilitation services acted as a 'barrier' in the support offered to those in need. 'That's something that needs to be overcome,' Prof Matheson said, 'and it's not easy to fix.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Telegraph
a minute ago
- Telegraph
Starmer's own guidelines ‘should have spared Lucy Connolly from jail'
Sir Keir Starmer has become embroiled in a hypocrisy row over the prosecution of Lucy Connolly on the eve of her release from prison. The Prime Minister supported the conviction of Mrs Connolly for inciting racial hatred over an expletive-ridden post on X after the Southport attacks, but it has emerged that he had previously suggested that people who swiftly deleted offensive social media statements should not necessarily face criminal action. On Thursday, Mrs Connolly will be released after being sentenced to 31 months in prison for posting the comments, which she deleted hours later. The mother-of-one's supporters claim she has been subjected to an unfairly long jail term and made a scapegoat for the rioting last summer. Sir Keir has defended Mrs Connolly's conviction, saying that while he was strongly in favour of free speech he was 'equally against incitement to violence' against other people. He added: 'I will always support the action taken by our police and courts to keep our streets and people safe.' However, in 2013, when director of public prosecutions, he introduced guidance for prosecutors to consider a more lenient approach towards suspects who 'swiftly' deleted social media posts and expressed 'genuine remorse'. The guidance urged prosecutors to consider four factors where 'a prosecution is unlikely to be both necessary and proportionate'. These included if 'swift and effective action has been taken by the suspect and/or others for example, service providers, to remove the communication in question or otherwise block access to it'. Mrs Connolly was jailed for a post on the day three children were killed at a dance class in Southport, on Merseyside, urging followers to 'set fire' to hotels that housed asylum seekers 'for all I care.' At the time, the childminder had about 9,000 followers on X. Her message was reposted 940 times and viewed 310,000 times before she deleted it three and a half hours later, saying she regretted it. Sir Keir's 2013 advice was caveated with a warning to prosecutors that it was 'not an exhaustive list' of mitigating circumstances and that 'each case must be considered on its own factors and its own individual merits.' Legal experts who have followed Mrs Connolly's case noted that the guidance suggested public order offences, such as inciting racial hatred, should be treated separately and suspects would not therefore necessarily benefit from the same protections. Sir Keir followed up publication of the guidance with interviews in which he said: 'There's a lot of stuff out there that is highly offensive that is put out on a spontaneous basis that is quite often taken down pretty quickly, and the view is that those sort of remarks don't necessarily need to be prosecuted. 'This is not a get out of jail card, but it is highly relevant. Stuff does go up on a Friday and Saturday night and come down the next morning. 'Now if that is the case a lot of people will say that shouldn't have happened, the person has accepted it, but really you don't need a criminal prosecution. It is a relevant factor.' The 2013 guidance is repeated nearly word for word in the latest version for prosecutors. However, the initial advice that the factors could make a prosecution 'unlikely' has been tempered to state that prosecutors should take 'particular care' to ensure prosecution is 'necessary and proportionate'. Critics who have claimed Mrs Connolly was a victim of two-tier justice said it raised further questions over her treatment. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: 'Keir Starmer's enthusiasm for prosecuting Lucy Connolly appears to contradict his own guidelines. She rapidly deleted the message and showed remorse. This suggests Keir Starmer is guilty of hypocrisy and double standards by supporting a breach of his own prosecution guidelines. 'Lord Hermer personally authorised this prosecution, in what looks like another example of two-tier justice bearing in mind the very long sentence given when compared to others who committed actual acts of violence.' Lord Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, said: 'Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, should have listened to the advice of Sir Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, and urged the CPS not to bring charges against Lucy Connolly. 'Sentencing her to more than two and a half years for a single tweet which she quickly deleted and apologised for has undermined public confidence in the criminal justice system, particularly when Labour councillors, MPs and anti-racism campaigners who have said and done much worse have avoided jail altogether. 'The public have concluded – rightly – that it's one rule for people on the Right and another for people on the Left. 'The Free Speech Union urged Lucy to plead not guilty, and offered to pay for her defence. Had she done so, I'm confident she would have been acquitted. But she decided against that precisely because she wasn't granted bail and was worried that her case would take so long to come to trial that she would end up spending more time in jail than she would if she pleaded guilty.' Richard Tice, the deputy Reform UK leader who visited Mrs Connolly in prison, said she should have pleaded not guilty. 'There was pressure in the legal system to get her to plead guilty. That was the establishment working in its mystical ways,' he claimed. 'The proof of my point is that Ricky Jones, the Labour councillor, can urge for people's throats to be slit live on TV in front of a big crowd and be found not guilty by a jury. It proves the whole point about two-tier justice and two-tier Keir. He is the biggest hypocrite that has been in Downing Street.' Frank Ferguson, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: 'It is not an offence to have strong or differing political views, but it is an offence to incite racial hatred – and that is what Connolly admitted to doing. 'The prosecution case included evidence which showed that racist tweets were sent out from Lucy Connolly's X account both in the weeks and months before the Southport attacks – as well as in the days after. The CPS takes racial hatred extremely seriously, and will never hesitate to prosecute these cases where there is enough evidence to do so.' The CPS also noted messages raised during her appeal on her remorse, in which she suggested she might claim that it was not her who had posted but that she was a victim of 'doxing', and that she had published the apology at the suggestion of a third party and her husband. A Government spokesman said: 'Sentencing is a matter for independent courts, and we support the action taken by the courts, as well as the police, to keep our streets safe. 'In all cases where Law Officers' consent is required, the Law Officers carefully consider whether to grant consent, including all relevant factors to the public interest in the prosecution.'
