Rail fare rises capped to cut cost of living

INCREASES in train fares are to be capped in the first of a series of government moves to cut the cost of living.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin will announce today that the rail industry’s powers to raise the cost of tickets year after year is to be curbed, saving commuters up to £200 a year.

Mr McLoughlin will today say the move to cap rail fare rises ‘is just the start of a pro- gramme to help hard working people and reduce the cost of living’.

Average regulated fares, which include most tickets, are allowed to go up by the Retail Price Index in July plus 1 per cent. That means that in January next year, prices will rise by an average 4.2 per cent.

A system called flex, introduced by the last government, allowed even greater rises to be introduced on busy routes.

Mr McLoughlin will say that the Government is ‘calling an end’ to such hikes by limiting flex rises to 2 per cent. That means the maximum fare rise in the New Year – including flex - will be capped at 6.2 per cent.

But Stephen Joseph of the Campaign for Better Transport said: ‘Commuters will be asking themselves if this is all just talk.’