Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of train fares in (a) the West Midlands and (b) across the UK.

Increases to regulated rail fares in England 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 RPI figure as it was lower than subsequent months. In addition, as in 2021, we have temporarily frozen fares for passengers to travel at the lower price for the entirety of January and February 2022, with fares changing on 1 March 2022.

The fares rise in the West Midlands will be in line with the national rise. Rail fares outside England are a devolved matter and decisions regarding fares increases are for the devolved administrations.

We have recently introduced flexible season rail tickets, in England, which provide better value to most two to three day-a-week 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. Railcard discounts are available UK wide.