02.12.19
Rail Delivery Group responds to 2020 rail fares proposal
Saturday (30 Nov) saw the rail fares for 2020 published and an expected rise of an average of 2.7% in price in the coming year, with some staying the same and some reducing.
Despite the expected average increase, this is the third year in a row that train companies have held the prices below the rate of inflation.
According to Rail Delivery Group, 98p from every £1 spent on rail fares goes back into running the railway and rail companies want to work with the future government to make fares easier for customers through the reformation of outdates regulations.
Throughout 2020, 1,000 extra carriages and 1,000 extra services will be introduced into the rail networks as part of a long-term improvement plan by the industry.
Passengers in 2020 and the British economy will also see benefits from projects such as the £120m redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street Station and Aberdeen Station, new and upgraded trains for TransPennine Express, MerseyRail, LNER, Northern, Hull Trains and Grand Central and a £40m train upgrade programme in Wales.
East Anglia will see a £1.4bn investment into 169 new trains on Greater Anglia and a £27m route upgrade, making way for 10 extra freight trains per day, removing up to 760 lorries from the road.
90 new trains will be rolled out on the South Western Railway and construction will start on the £150m upgrade of Gatwick Airport station.
Responding to a proposal to reform the fares system and reduce some fares, a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, speaking on behalf of train operators, said:
"Rail companies have been calling for some time for changes in regulation to enable an easier to use, better value range of fares but it’s a red herring to suggest that reforming fares needs a change of ownership.
“Overall fare levels will always be a matter for elected politicians in deciding the balance of farepayer and taxpayer funding. Train companies would obviously support a reduction for passengers as long as it is funded on an ongoing basis so that investment to improve the railway can continue.”