"Around half of England's rail fares will be frozen during next year's ticket price change, but the fares freeze will only affect regulated fares and will put pressure on London's tube and bus fares. The annual fares rise is traditionally aligned to the July Retail Prices Index (RPI) figure of the preceding year, so it had been expected that fares would rise by 4.8% in 2026. That will not happen."
"This is the first time in 30 years that regulated fares will not rise during the annual fares change, but freezing fares without a commensurate freezing of costs will put more pressure on unregulated fares to make up the difference. Regulated fares are the ones that government ministers can set guardrails around and intervene on if they are not considered 'reasonable'. These include season tickets, day singles and returns, most commuter journeys, off-peak returns between major cities, and some flexible fares around urban centres."
"Still, as a certain retailer says, every little helps. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "We all want to see cheaper rail travel, so we're freezing fares to help millions of passengers save money. Commuters on more expensive routes will save more than £300 per year, meaning they keep more of their hard-earned cash. This is part of our wider plans to rebuild Great British Railways the public can be proud of and rely on.""
About half of rail fares in England — the regulated fares — will be frozen at the next annual price change, cancelling an expected 4.8% rise tied to last July's RPI. This marks the first time in 30 years that regulated fares will not increase during the annual change. The freeze applies only to regulated fares, so operating cost increases must be absorbed by the unregulated half of ticket sales, likely driving higher unregulated fares. The freeze will have a very small effect on headline inflation (around 0.004%), while some commuters may save over £300 annually.
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