Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the cost of rail tickets relative to average incomes in each region of the UK; and what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of rail travel.

Rail fare increases are calculated with reference to inflation rather than average income. This year rail fares increases will be capped and tied to the Retail Price Index (RPI) figure for July 2021 (3.8 per cent). The Government has deliberately continued to use the July figure as it was lower than the months since, as an August or September RPI figure would have led to a 4.8 per cent or 4.9 per cent, change with October being even higher at 6 per cent.

The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, published May 2021, contains a number of passenger-focused reforms that will bring in improved services and encourage the use of rail. The Spending Review 2021 confirmed £5.7 billion of funding over three years to support essential rail services, and will see the Government investing £360 million in modernising ticketing and retailing systems, delivering a major overhaul to the way in which rail travel is bought and paid for.

We have recently introduced flexible season tickets on rail, which provide better value to most part-time commuters than buying daily tickets or traditional seasons. We have also saved a generation of passengers a third off their rail fares, including the 16-17 Saver and 26-30 Railcards and, most recently, the Veterans Railcard.