Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made a comparative estimate of the average cost of railway travel for consumers in (a) England and (b) other European countries.

England has one of widest ranges of fare prices in Europe, including some fare types that are among the cheapest – particularly when booked in advance.

Following last year’s biggest ever Government intervention to cap rail fare increases well below inflation, we will continue to protect passengers from cost of living pressures and we will not increase next year’s rail fares by as much as the July RPI figure (which was 9 per cent). As in 2021, 2022 and 2023, we have also temporarily delayed the fares increase, enabling passengers to purchase tickets at last year’s prices throughout January and February 2024.