TRANSPORT bosses have issued an urgent warning to every Brit with a railcard – after their cost was hiked by £5 in the Budget.
Some rail fares will also go up by 4.6% under plans drawn up by the Treasury.
They include season tickets on most commuter routes, off-peak return tickets for long journeys and flexible tickets in big cities.
The “trick and treat” Halloween package included:
The changes are set to hit English commuters’ pockets on March 2 next year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves did not mention the hikes in her Budget speech yesterday.
They were instead noted in the small print of the Treasury’s official Budget document.
The Treasury said the fare increase was just one percentage point above inflation.
A spokesperson for the department said: “It’s the lowest absolute increase in three years.”
The £5 railcard hike will be subject to an industry review, according to the document.
Most railcards cost £30 a year and save commuters an average of £158 annually.
Brits who have a Disabled Persons Railcard will not be affected by the hike.
The Campaign for Better Transport said: “Doing this at the same time as keeping fuel duty frozen sends entirely the wrong message.
“To tackle air pollution, congestion and climate change, we need to make public transport the attractive, affordable choice.”
Industry group Rail Partners said: “Fares should be set at a level that will ultimately encourage more people to travel by train in the future.
“The focus must be on growing passenger numbers, not making current passengers pay more.”
Following the increase, a yearly ticket from Rugby to London will rise by £496.62 to £11,292.62.
And the commute from Milton Keynes to London will leap by £357.33 to £8,125.33.
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.
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.
How to save money on your train ticket
HERE are some top tips to help you save cash on rail fares.
Split tickets
If you’re taking a lengthy train journey then you could save hundreds of pounds by splitting your tickets.
You won’t need to change trains and National Rail lets you split your ticket as long as the train calls at the station you buy the tickets for.
One site that works this out for you is Splitticketing.co.uk.
Buy a season ticket
Regular travellers should be able to save by purchasing either a seven day, monthly or annual season ticket, which will allow them to make the journey an unlimited number of times as long as it’s valid.
If you’re making the same journey on three or more days a week, then a seven-day season ticket is likely to save you money, compared to buying a new one every day.
You can check to see if a season ticket will save you money on your trip with National Rail’s season ticket calculator.
Consider Carnet tickets for London travel
If you often travel back and forth to London on the train but you don’t go regularly enough to buy season ticket, you might save with a Carnet ticket.
They offer a 10% discount on plenty of routes.
Tickets are valid for three months and you can buy books of peak (anytime) or off-peak tickets.
Book at least 12 weeks in advance
Network Rail releases its timetable 12 weeks in advance, so ticket firms usually make their fares available at this time.
Just like plane tickets, the earlier you book the lower the price you’ll pay for your seat.
You can sign up to the Trainline’s ticket alert service and it will tell you when cheap advance tickets go on sale for a particular journey.
Also, the National Rail’s future travel chart shows the furthest advance date that you can buy tickets.
Save money with a Railcard
If you’re a regular traveller then a railcard should shave a third off the price of your ticket.
Just make sure you’ll make more in savings over a year than the price of the Railcard. See Railcard.co.uk for more information.
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