Rail travel: Government halving the cost of single LNER fares in a move that will ‘unleash more competition, innovation and growth’
The government is set to halve the cost of single rail fares across the wider LNER rail network, as part of its plan to reform the UK’s railways.
Transport secretary Mark Harper will announce an extension of single-leg pricing beyond the few LNER services that have trialled the ticketing system since 2020.
The move will mean that single fares will always be 50 per cent cheaper than return tickets, giving passengers more flexibility and better value for money, he claimed.
In Harper’s keynote speech to the railway industry tonight, the secretary will also announce the roll out of pay-as-you-go fares across south-eastern England as well as the trialling of fare fluctuations.
Fares on certain LNER services will change based on how full the train is as a way to better manage capacity “while also raising revenue.”
“I am setting out the government’s long-term vision for the future of our railways,” Harper said ahead of tonight’s event.
“Growing the economy is rightly one of the Prime Minister’s top five priorities, and the measures I announce today will unleash more competition, innovation and growth in an important sector of our economy.”
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh argued that passengers were still paying more for less “under the Conservative’s broken rail system.”
“The next Labour government will put passengers back at the heart of our railways, and build the infrastructure fit for the century ahead, unlocking jobs and growth.”
While Andy Bagnall, Rail Partners’ chief executive, said reforming the fare system was an idea “whose time has come.”
“Industry has been pushing for reform for many years so that rail fares reflect the changing ways people are travelling, accelerated by the pandemic,” he added.
As part of the reform, Harper will also give the industry an update on the future of Great British Rail (GBR).
Announced in May 2021 as part of the Williams-Shapps plan for rail, Great British Railways was supposed to start operating from early 2024, taking over Network Rail’s role and issuing contracts to run trains.
Nevertheless its existence was thrown into question by both Harper and former transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
Harper told the Commons’ transport select committee in early December he was taking some time to “listen to alternative views.”
Nevertheless, as part of today’s speech Harper will lay out how the public body will operate “as a guiding mind to coordinate the entire network,” and drive profitability.
According to Ed Thomas, KPMG’s partner and head of UK transport, the announcement will be a “reassuring step for passengers at a time when rail travel is under the spotlight and needs reforming.”