Rail fare set to rise by 2.2% from January

Average rail fares will increase by 2.2% from January, which while still an increase marks the lowest rise for five years.

17:53 05 December 2014

Rail fares will rise from January with an average price increase of 2.2%. This is the lowest rise for five years.

The government has confirmed last September that regulated rail fare rises would be pegged to July’s measure of Retail Price (RPI) inflation rather than capped at RPI plus 1per cent.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland rail fares will remain the same - at least for the mean time. The same can be said for Scotland.

Michael Roberts, director general of the Rail Delivery Group which represents rail operators and Network Rail, said that £27million a day will be spent in the next five years to improve services.

He added: "For every pound spent on fares, 97p goes on track, train, staff and other costs, while 3p goes in profits earned by train companies for running services on Europe's fastest-growing railway.

"The industry is continuing to work together to get more for every pound we invest to enable government to make fares decisions which work best for passengers."