Rail fares have increased by an average of 3.1% in England and Wales – and almost 3% in Scotland – despite a raft of issues on the network in 2018.<\/p>\n
The rail industry says 98p of every pound spent on a ticket is invested back into the network.<\/p>\n
But Wednesday’s price hike was called “yet another kick in the wallet” by campaign group Railfuture.<\/p>\n
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the government had made a “record investment” in rail.<\/p>\n
He also announced that a new railcard extending child fares to 16 and 17-year-olds will be available ahead of the new academic year in September.<\/p>\n
A discount railcard for 26 to 30-year-olds will go on sale from 12:00 GMT.<\/p>\n
Fares in London will stay the same after a decision by Mayor Sadiq Khan to freeze Transport for London prices.<\/p>\n
Protests against rises elsewhere are expected outside stations across the country from rail unions, politicians and campaigners.<\/p>\n
Rail fares to rise by 3.1% in January<\/p>\n
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How to save money on train fares<\/p>\n
The rise in England and Wales – the highest since January 2013 – will see the price of some annual season tickets go up by more than \u00a3100.<\/p>\n
Analysis from the Labour Party of more than 180 routes claimed that since the Conservatives came into power in 2010, the average commuter is paying \u00a3786 more for their annual season ticket.<\/p>\n
The increases come despite one in seven trains being delayed by at least five minutes in the past 12 months – the network’s worst performance since September 2005, according to the Press Association<\/p>\n
Chaos caused by new timetables from Northern and Govia Thameslink added to problems of extreme weather, strikes and signal failures hitting routes across the country.<\/p>\n
Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said the latest increases were “an affront to everyone who has had to endure years of chaos on Britain’s railways”.<\/p>\n
Around 45% of fares are regulated by government, and capped at July’s retail price index inflation figure – 3.2%.<\/p>\n
Other increases are decided by the train companies.<\/p>\n
The government has said that fares could rise in line with a lower index of inflation if unions agree that rail workers’ wages also increase at a lower rate.<\/p>\n
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