Train fares to rise by 4.6% next year, Budget documents reveal – exact date price hikes come in and how to save

MILLIONS of travellers will pay up to 4.6% more for train tickets next year, the Government has revealed.

The official Budget documents released after Rachel Reeves‘ Autumn Statement revealed how much fares will increase, and when the rise will come into force.

The increase is one percentage point above July’s Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation.

The RPI is a measure of inflation that’s published monthly and is used to measure the change in the cost of retail goods and services.

Changes to fares will come into force on March 2, 2025.

The budget document said this will be “the lowest absolute increase in three years”.

But the price rises will heap more misery on commuters who cannot drive or walk to work.

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.

Train operators set rises in unregulated fares, although these are likely to be very close to changes in regulated ticket prices.

This is because the companies’ decisions are heavily influenced by governments due to contracts introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rail fares already went up by 4.9% in March this year.

This saw the annual cost of a weekly commute from Oxford to London rise from £6,096 to £6,394.

Andy Bagnall, chief executive of Rail Partners, a group representing private sector rail organisations, said: “Government should set fares at a level that will ultimately encourage more people to travel by train in the future, helping to secure the long-term financial sustainability of the sector and capture the wider economic and environmental benefits of rail for the nation as a whole.

“The focus must be on growing passenger numbers, not making current passengers pay more.”

The Budget document also stated that the Government will “agree” to a £5 increase in the price of most railcards “subject to an industry proposal”.

The railcard for disabled passengers will be unchanged.

The Treasury said railcards, which generally cost £30 per year, save users an average of “up to £158” annually.

There is no set date for when this change will take place.

The announcement comes as the Chancellor confirmed a raft of other changes during her maiden Budget speech.

The “trick and treat” Halloween package included:

• A freeze to fuel duty for a 15th consecutive year in a win for The Sun’s Keep It Down campaign
•  A penny off a pint by cutting draught beer duty, but raising booze taxes on other drinks
•  A gloomy forecast of sluggish growth in a blow to Labour’s flagship mission
•  A stamp duty rise for second-home buyers of two percentage points
•  A pay rise for millions as the minimum wage was increased by £1,400 a year
•  A hike to a packet of cigarettes as smoking duties were raised
•  A new tax on vapes ahead of the looming ban on disposable e-cigs
•  Higher taxes on air passenger duty for private jets that hits the wealthy
•  A benefits crackdown with Ms Reeves telling jobless Brits to “get back to work”
•  An increase to the state pension of £473 next year through the triple lock
•  An inheritance tax raid through freezing the rates people pay
•  An increase to the Carer’s Allowance to give cash to 60,000 more carers

The Autumn Statement provides an update on the government’s plans for the economy.

These are issued twice a year, once at the Budget in the spring and once at the Autumn Statement.

Why are rail fares going up?

Rail fares are regulated by the government.

Typically, each year the government uses the July Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation to work out how much ticket prices will go up.

The increase is capped at RPI, which was 3.6% in July this year, plus 1%.

Last year, the government stepped in to cap this year’s rise at 4.9%.

At the time, inflation was soaring and fares could have increased at a rate of 9%.

The Department for Transport also capped fares for 2022 and 2023.

Historically, price rises have taken effect in January, but it changed to March during the pandemic.

Not all fares will increase and the price changes will vary across regions and rail operators.