Rail fares need an overhaul to help ‘level up’ the North
4 years, 5 months ago

Rail fares need an overhaul to help ‘level up’ the North

The Telegraph  

Boris Johnson risks falling short of his pledge to “level up” all regions of the UK due to a “complicated and restrictive” rail fare structure, industry leaders and politicians have warned, particularly following the impact of Covid-19. The Rail Delivery Group said the current system made it “difficult to offer the more flexible fares and ticketing options that passengers will increasingly demand”. Rail leaders pointed to the threat of the fare structure in a submission to the “levelling up” inquiry, which is being conducted by MPs who serve on the business, energy and industrial strategy committee. The submission urged for changes to the system saying: “Replacing the current set of fares’ regulations would allow for much greater flexibility and a better range of fares for travellers.” Current and former MPs over the weekend echoed the call for an overhaul, branding the fare structure “very difficult to understand”.

Fare North Rail Fares  system  structure  help  submission  fares  uk  mps  need  overhaul  risks  difficult  level  rail  north  fare

History of this topic

Split ticket savings: How exploiting Britain’s barmy train fares could cut the cost of your travel
Trending News
3 weeks, 4 days ago

Split ticket savings: How exploiting Britain’s barmy train fares could cut the cost of your travel

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. On 2 March 2025 ticket prices went up by an average of 4.6 per cent in England and Wales; from …

Simon Calder reveals his tricks to finding cheap train tickets
1 month ago

Simon Calder reveals his tricks to finding cheap train tickets

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Rail retailers – as opposed to train operators – can add a fee on top of the 5 per cent …

Simon Calder reveals how to find the cheapest train tickets
1 month, 1 week ago

Simon Calder reveals how to find the cheapest train tickets

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Rail retailers – as opposed to train operators – can add a fee on top of the 5 per cent …

Rail fares will continue to rise under Labour’s public ownership plan, transport secretary indicates
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Rail fares will continue to rise under Labour’s public ownership plan, transport secretary indicates

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Rail fares will continue to rise under Labour despite plans to …

Train fares and railcard price increase: What you need to know
4 months, 4 weeks ago

Train fares and railcard price increase: What you need to know

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The cost of regulated train fares in England will increase by up to 4.6% next year …

Rail has fundamental problems that nationalisation alone cannot solve
8 months, 1 week ago

Rail has fundamental problems that nationalisation alone cannot solve

The Independent  

How wrong can you be about the railways? The prime minister could have encouraged his transport ministers to settle with the train drivers’ union, Aslef, well before the dispute became the longest and most bitter in railway history and drove many passengers away permanently. Instead, Sunak chose to portray two years of sporadic walkouts as “Labour’s strikes”. Only a fool …

Why Labour’s plan to revive British Rail won’t bring down ticket prices
11 months ago

Why Labour’s plan to revive British Rail won’t bring down ticket prices

The Telegraph  

Slashing ticket prices, conversely, would require an increase in subsidy, something Labour is reluctant to fund given the numerous other calls on the public purse and its determination to stick to fiscal rules. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch praised Labour’s commitment to nationalising rail franchises as they expire as “in the best interests of railway workers”. He said the move …

Labour fails to rule out fare rises under rail nationalisation plan
11 months ago

Labour fails to rule out fare rises under rail nationalisation plan

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The shadow transport secretary has failed to rule out that fares …

Train passengers hit out at delays and cancellations on first day of ticket price increase
1 year ago

Train passengers hit out at delays and cancellations on first day of ticket price increase

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Rail passengers have hit out at the “irony” of mass …

Train fares: everyone knows they’re wrong, but no government is brave enough to fix them
1 year ago

Train fares: everyone knows they’re wrong, but no government is brave enough to fix them

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The general secretary of the biggest rail union, Mick Lynch, called the rise a “slap in the face” for travellers, …

Rail passengers in England face ‘brutal’ hike as fares to rise by 4.9%
1 year, 3 months ago

Rail passengers in England face ‘brutal’ hike as fares to rise by 4.9%

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rishi Sunak’s government …

Train ticket prices could fall by 56 per cent if rest of UK follows Scotland in scrapping peak-time rail fares
1 year, 6 months ago

Train ticket prices could fall by 56 per cent if rest of UK follows Scotland in scrapping peak-time rail fares

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Train operator ScotRail and the Scottish government are facing a 30 per cent slump in rail commuting due to changes …

ScotRail to bring in off-peak tickets around the clock in six-month trial
1 year, 6 months ago

ScotRail to bring in off-peak tickets around the clock in six-month trial

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Peak fares are to be abolished for the winter by ScotRail, with the operator hoping to …

Return train fares expected to be scrapped in shake-up of British rail system
2 years, 1 month ago

Return train fares expected to be scrapped in shake-up of British rail system

The Independent  

Return train fares are to be scrapped in a planned shake-up of Britain’s rail system, expected to be announced by Rishi Sunak’s transport secretary within days. Mark Harper will reportedly unveil plans this week to replace return fares with “single-leg pricing”, in which the price of two single tickets will be equal to a return. It was first proposed by …

Major changes to the UK’s rail timetables come into effect on Sunday
2 years, 10 months ago

Major changes to the UK’s rail timetables come into effect on Sunday

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy “Huge cuts to rail services will hit communities across the North,” Labour’s transport spokesperson, Louise Haigh, …

Nationalise the railway and slash fares: Andy Burnham’s plan for transport
2 years, 11 months ago

Nationalise the railway and slash fares: Andy Burnham’s plan for transport

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Burnham sets out the policy that, as a senior Labour politician, he is promoting: “We won’t get the railway …

The Great British Rail Sale sounds splendid – but there’s a catch
2 years, 11 months ago

The Great British Rail Sale sounds splendid – but there’s a catch

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But here we are, with the …

‘Rail sale’ offers more than a million half-price tickets in April and May
2 years, 11 months ago

‘Rail sale’ offers more than a million half-price tickets in April and May

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy London to Edinburgh for £22 one-way, or under £15 with a railcard: that is one of …

Train fares are a shambles – without fair pricing the railways are set for a painful decline
3 years ago

Train fares are a shambles – without fair pricing the railways are set for a painful decline

The Independent  

Yesterday, a one-way rush-hour ticket from Bristol to London would have cost £115. “Rail fare rise capped below current inflation rate” reads the headline of the DfT press release that heralded the 3.8 per cent increase in fares across England and Wales. Fortunately, as all regulars on Brunel’s magnificent line between London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads will know, the …

Commuters hit by biggest rise in rail fares in almost a decade
3 years ago

Commuters hit by biggest rise in rail fares in almost a decade

The Telegraph  

Commuters will be hit with the biggest increase in rail fares for nearly a decade despite a steep fall in the number of train services being run. National rail fares will rise by 3.8pc, the steepest increase since January 2013, in a fresh blow to families facing spiralling energy bills, soaring inflation and steepling mortgage costs. The increase will do …

Train passengers braced for largest spike in fares since 2013
3 years, 1 month ago

Train passengers braced for largest spike in fares since 2013

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “It is important that fares are set at a …

Five years on, rail passengers are still waiting for ticket improvements
3 years, 3 months ago

Five years on, rail passengers are still waiting for ticket improvements

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Rail passengers must be able to trust that they are getting the best possible deal every time they travel.” The …

Rail ‘betrayal’ for north and Midlands despite Boris Johnson levelling-up promises
3 years, 5 months ago

Rail ‘betrayal’ for north and Midlands despite Boris Johnson levelling-up promises

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Opposition parties said people would “feel betrayed and left behind” by the government’s “inability to …

Rail passengers face potential 4.8% rise in fares
3 years, 7 months ago

Rail passengers face potential 4.8% rise in fares

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. That would lead to hikes in the cost of …

‘Ruthless overhaul’ of train fare structure and pricing needed, warns rail expert
3 years, 7 months ago

‘Ruthless overhaul’ of train fare structure and pricing needed, warns rail expert

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But Mark Smith, founder of the Seat61.com website, warns a “ruthless root and branch overhaul” of the fare structure and …

Weekend rail closures could disappear this summer
4 years, 1 month ago

Weekend rail closures could disappear this summer

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Sir Peter Hendy, chairman of Network Rail, told the National Rail Recovery Conference 2021 that the coronavirus pandemic will transform …

Rail fares to rise by 1.6% from January
4 years, 7 months ago

Rail fares to rise by 1.6% from January

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Many train tickets will cost 1.6 per cent more from 2 January – unless the government …

Wales has found an answer to England's soaring train fares
5 years, 2 months ago

Wales has found an answer to England's soaring train fares

Wired  

Getty Images / WIRED Every January rail fares in the UK get more expensive. But this year Wales has done what the rest of the UK rail has found impossible: instead of hiking prices, it slashed the cost of train tickets by up to ten per cent. Wales has notoriously poor rail infrastructure – you can’t get from north to …

UK commuters face further rail fare rise
5 years, 2 months ago

UK commuters face further rail fare rise

Al Jazeera  

Rail passengers in the United Kingdom face “another decade of misery”, with some long-distance commuters seeing the annual cost of getting to work increase by more than 100 pounds. “How on earth is the government going to meet its climate commitments by pricing people off environmentally friendly trains and on to our polluted and congested roads?” Network Rail data shows …

General election: Labour to cut rail fares by up to 75%
5 years, 3 months ago

General election: Labour to cut rail fares by up to 75%

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. An across-the-board 33 per cent cut in regulated fares would take effect from January 2020, replacing the planned 2.7 per …

Fare hikes are needed to change the rail system – but there are better ways to do it
5 years, 7 months ago

Fare hikes are needed to change the rail system – but there are better ways to do it

The Independent  

The prime minister and the shadow chancellor share a curious constituency boundary. That is appropriate because the only other thing Boris Johnson and John McDonnell have in common is the recurring political nightmare of what to do about Britain’s railways – with regulated fares set to rise by 2.8 per cent next year. The essence of the problem: tens of …

Rail fares set to rise by 2.8% in 2020
5 years, 7 months ago

Rail fares set to rise by 2.8% in 2020

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Regulated train fares are set to rise by 2.8 per cent next year, in line with …

Rail fares: Commuters will ‘refuse to pay’ if season ticket hikes continue, campaigners warn
5 years, 7 months ago

Rail fares: Commuters will ‘refuse to pay’ if season ticket hikes continue, campaigners warn

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Train commuters will “refuse to pay” if season ticket prices continue to be hiked, a rail …

Rail fare increases: Everything you need to know
6 years, 2 months ago

Rail fare increases: Everything you need to know

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Rail fares have increased by an average of 3.1 per cent in England and Wales, and …

Millions of commuters will have to pay extra £100 a year
6 years, 3 months ago

Millions of commuters will have to pay extra £100 a year

Daily Mail  

Britain's rail fares will increase by an average of 3.1 per cent on January 2, industry body the Rail Delivery Group announced today. The rise in fares comes despite commuters consistently complaining of delays across the country this year Just last week passengers had to queue on a bridge before being allowed onto platforms at Clapham Junction after over-running engineering …

Privatising Britain’s railways cost taxpayers £5bn per year and increased fares, Labour claims
6 years, 4 months ago

Privatising Britain’s railways cost taxpayers £5bn per year and increased fares, Labour claims

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The 'catastrophic' privatisation of Britain’s railways has cost the taxpayer £5bn …

How UK train companies could make rail fares cheaper and better
6 years, 7 months ago

How UK train companies could make rail fares cheaper and better

Wired  

Getty Images / Jeff J Mitchell / Staff Rail fares are going up, on schedule. It's not been a good year for the rail industry in the UK, and the carnage caused by the mismanaged timetable shakeup has dominated coverage, meaning any fare rise – expected or not – feels like a "slap in the face" to commuters, as one …

Fares fair? Rail industry opens public consultation on prices despite timetable turmoil across network
6 years, 9 months ago

Fares fair? Rail industry opens public consultation on prices despite timetable turmoil across network

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy On the morning when train commuters in northwest England adapt to an emergency timetable, the rail …

Train fares: rail firms call for ‘root and branch’ reform
6 years, 10 months ago

Train fares: rail firms call for ‘root and branch’ reform

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Train operators must store details of 55 million different fares, and promise to provide any customer with a small piece …

Millennial railcards are good, but rational train fares would be better
7 years, 5 months ago

Millennial railcards are good, but rational train fares would be better

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mark Smith, the rail guru known as The Man in Seat Sixty-one, also questions the commercial sense of a “National …

UK rail passengers 'endangered' by biggest spending cuts since 2008 financial crash
7 years, 11 months ago

UK rail passengers 'endangered' by biggest spending cuts since 2008 financial crash

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Britain’s railways are about to be hit by the biggest spending …

Rail industry announces radical overhaul of train fares in Britain
8 years, 1 month ago

Rail industry announces radical overhaul of train fares in Britain

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. At the time far fewer people travelled by train, there was no competition from budget airlines and the main discount …

Cheap train tickets: Here's how you can beat the illogical pricing system
8 years, 3 months ago

Cheap train tickets: Here's how you can beat the illogical pricing system

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Slade were singing “Merry Xmas Everybody” on the radio, Britain’s role in Europe was being fiercely debated and industrial strife …

Rail fares are on the rise again but passenger interests are left in siding
8 years, 3 months ago

Rail fares are on the rise again but passenger interests are left in siding

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Great news for rail passengers …

Train fares set to rise by average of 2.3%
8 years, 3 months ago

Train fares set to rise by average of 2.3%

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “We understand how passengers feel when fares go up, and we know that in …

Rail fares increasing at double speed of wages, new report warns
8 years, 7 months ago

Rail fares increasing at double speed of wages, new report warns

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Around half of rail fares are regulated, including season tickets on most commuter journeys, …

Train companies hide cheapest ticket prices, overcharging millions of unsuspecting passengers
8 years, 8 months ago

Train companies hide cheapest ticket prices, overcharging millions of unsuspecting passengers

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Millions of rail passengers are being overcharged because rail companies …

Rail fares increase: Split tickets offer easy and legal way of making huge savings on train tickets
9 years, 2 months ago

Rail fares increase: Split tickets offer easy and legal way of making huge savings on train tickets

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Rail fares are rising across the UK today but there are several easy ways of cutting …

Rail fares 'increasingly divorced from reality' as prices go up 1.1% for new year
9 years, 2 months ago

Rail fares 'increasingly divorced from reality' as prices go up 1.1% for new year

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Rail passengers face a fresh round of fare increases today, …

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