Rail fares go up year after year – but it doesn't have to be this way. It's time to fix fares for good

On Sunday 2 March, regulated rail fares went up. Again. It happens every year, but it doesn’t need to. With annual rises, we’ve seen the cost of train travel increase at nearly twice the rate of driving, as a 14-year freeze on fuel duty means that driving costs in real terms are at 1990s levels. Little surprise, then, that people who have the option of driving, for all its risks, costs and unpredictability, chose to do so instead of taking a greener, safer, healthier mode of transport.

And year-on-year rises aren’t the only problem with rail fares. Do you remember the almighty national outcry when tickets for an Oasis concert were being sold for more than the advertised price? It was all over the press and the public were up in arms. Even worse, as time went on, the price went up! People really minded. This was neither fair nor rational in the eyes of the nation. 

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Yet, if you’ve ever tried to travel by train across the UK, you’ll have become desensitised to being treated this way. The same seat might be £10 one day, £30 the next, £80 the day after and £300 a few days later*. And this is normal. We should compete for a seat. Why should movement, mobility, living our lives not be a competition?

There can be a place for demand-based pricing when it works for the public, such as when hotels reduce room rates at the last minute. But that didn’t happen with Oasis and it hasn’t happened for rail travel. People are encouraged to compete with each other for the ability to get around, and those with urgent needs to travel across the country such as for medical emergencies (I’ve experienced this first hand), fleeing abuse or persecution, and other more day-to-day needs which arise at short notice, are hit harder in the wallet than those with the ability to book weeks or months in advance.

Imagine if it was the same for driving? Imagine it cost more to drive on the day instead of deciding to drive a month earlier? People wouldn’t stand for it. Yet this is meant to be normal for intercity rail travel. Zoom out for a minute and it is clearly illogical, not least when we have a clear and present climate emergency, and one of the top priorities for this and every government has to be enabling more people to use the railways.

That’s why we launched our campaign, Fix Fares for Good in 2025. This is a very significant year for rail, as the government’s process of establishing Great British Railways as the new, publicly-owned body to run our railways is due to come into legislation. Setting aside the huge number of outstanding questions which need to be answered around the process of rail reform and the creation of Great British Railways, which stands to become the second biggest national employer after the NHS, one thing is clear: this has to be a chance for a reset on rail fares.

A recent YouGov poll showed that support for the public sector running the railways plummets from 66% to just 6% if it means fares going up. And in our recent poll, 71% of people said that cheaper fares would make them more likely to travel by train. That speaks volumes and should give a clear indication to government that they have a prime opportunity to make the case for the rail reform programme being something which is clearly in the public interest, helps people, helps the planet and can be celebrated as an example of real change.

So, we are calling for clear, visible, impactful action. We’re saying yes, freeze rail fares like you have done for so long with fuel duty. Yes, review the whole range of fares and sales points and simplify the booking process where useful, but what’s the key? It’s not just about making fares simpler, that’s for sure. In places like London which have capped fares for public transport, there is actually a huge array of fare types and prices, but as fares are capped people believe they are being fairly charged. Transport for London have had to depend upon fare revenue more than other mayoral authorities, yet have managed to be financially resilient. So why not cap intercity rail fares too? It is way past time we had a proper, open, positive discussion about this.

Caps have also worked wonders on our buses across the country with the fare cap (formerly £2, now £3) which we campaigned successfully for. That cap, costing the government only £350m a year, had a huge impact on bus ridership and, we believe, is an outstanding example of the positive impact of such government investment in transport fares. We heard happy stories from people taking the bus up and down the country, yet on rail we still have an apparently endless stream of horror stories from people flying across the world instead of taking the train.

Our Fix Fares for Good report calls for reasonable caps on intercity rail, a better deal for walk-up passengers and a range of other measures to finally sort out a situation which has gone on for far too long. We’re saying now is the time to finally act decisively on this issue, to do so for people’s finances, for the country’s prosperity, and for the good of the planet. Let’s fix fares for good!

If you believe in the importance of this issue, do write to your MP to let them know that this has to be a top priority for government. We can’t afford to delay this any longer. Thank you.

*These are illustrative rather than actual fares, but you don’t have to look far to find real examples. Michael Solomon Williams works for the Campaign for Better Transport.

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