2025 fares from 2 March 2025 now in journey planners

[AY1975]

Fortunately, Greater Anglia provide some competition from Cambridge, and their weekend super off peak return rises by only 5% (from £18 to £18.90). Other places don't have this choice, of course...

In practice, though, it would appear that this fare won't be available at any weekends until April, as there are engineering works on the West Anglia route every weekend between now and the end of March and presumably Greater Anglia doesn't offer it when this is the case. I presume this is because they think the rail replacement buses wouldn't be able to cope with the number of passengers trying to use them if this fare were offered.

I see also that ScotRail fares are going up by 3.8% from 1st April. Again the new fares are now in the online journey planners.

 

[Watershed]

In practice, though, it would appear that this fare won't be available at any weekends until April, as there are engineering works on the West Anglia route every weekend between now and the end of March and presumably Greater Anglia doesn't offer it when this is the case. I presume this is because they think the rail replacement buses wouldn't be able to cope with the number of passengers trying to use them if this fare were offered.

The fares still exist - I could find them through several retailers. You do have to enter an appropriate "via" point (e.g. Audley End or Bishops Stortford) to force the use of Greater Anglia services.

I don't think I have ever heard of an example of a TOC-only fare deliberately being made unavailable during engineering works. Accidentally, perhaps, but not intentionally.

 

[Mark J]

Although Greater Anglia already made some fare rises on those weekend tickets a few months ago, which when combined with their price rices now give a total rise of just over 10% for the year.

e.g. the Cambridge to London Terminals GA only ticket went up 5.9% from £17 to £18 in September, which gives a combined rise of 11.2% for the year.

With a travelcard included the GA only ticket went up 12.4% in September from £21.70 to £24.40, but this price now appears to be unchanged in March.

The same with GWR and SWR.

Many 'local' services saw the national rise in March last year, again in September, and now again this coming weekend. Meaning fares have increased by around 15%.

One such example, Reading to Maidenhead was £8.00 pre March last year, £8.40 in March '24, £8.80 in September, and will be £9.20 from Sunday.

I'm sorry, but how is this justified?

If the prices rise yet again in September, then as far as I'm concerned the mickey is seriously being taken.

There should be one publicised rise a year, and that is it. Since when has more than one rise a year been commonplace?

From what I recall, the September rises came as a shock. They were not publicised, which comes across as a bit sneaky.

 

[Wallsendmag]

There have been multiple fare rounds per year as long as I can remember

 

[Mark J]

There have been multiple fare rounds per year as long as I can remember

It is a bit dishonest really. When we are told that fare will rise by x.x% in March each year, only for other sneaky increases to follow at any time.

Also when inflation is supposedly running at 2.x%, then why are we still seeing 4.x% increases?

If the railways aren't careful, then they will just undo the good efforts in trying to get people back onto them.

In some instances, I now opt for bus alternatives, due to the rises getting somewhat ridiculous on some fares.

 

[JonathanH]

There should be one publicised rise a year, and that is it. Since when has more than one rise a year been commonplace?

A number of small increases at least spreads the pain more than one large one. Ultimately, if the DfT and Treasury decide that the structure of fares is incorrect they will want to change that by applying a larger increase to those fares.

When we are told that fare will rise by x.x% in March each year, only for other sneaky increases to follow at any time.

That is just regulated fares. Other fares can increase or be withdrawn as the DfT sees fit.

Also when inflation is supposedly running at 2.x%, then why are we still seeing 4.x% increases?

July RPI was higher (3.6%) than current CPI (3.0% for January 2025) and there is 1% on top of that.

 

[gray1404]

I see TfW have increased regulated Off Peak Returns by 6%. Can anyone explain how they have been able to do this? My understanding was they could only increase by retail price index plus 1% which would come out at 4.6%.

How are they legally allowed to impose a 6% for regulated fares?

 

[Fiyero]

I've had an email from Uber saying to book by 01/03 to avoid the price rises, but surely if I search now for a date it will be the new price?

 

[MrJeeves]

I've had an email from Uber saying to book by 01/03 to avoid the price rises, but surely if I search now for a date it will be the new price?

Unless they're breaking the terms of their retail license, yes!

 

[Mark J]

I've had an email from Uber saying to book by 01/03 to avoid the price rises, but surely if I search now for a date it will be the new price?

I had a look on Uber earlier, and the new prices show for all journeys after and including 2nd March.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I see TfW have increased regulated Off Peak Returns by 6%. Can anyone explain how they have been able to do this? My understanding was they could only increase by retail price index plus 1% which would come out at 4.6%.

How are they legally allowed to impose a 6% for regulated fares?

DfT's framwork is as you've explained DfT don't control TfW

 

[Mark J]

I see TfW have increased regulated Off Peak Returns by 6%. Can anyone explain how they have been able to do this? My understanding was they could only increase by retail price index plus 1% which would come out at 4.6%.

How are they legally allowed to impose a 6% for regulated fares?

Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay has to be the (if not one of the) most expensive fares in the country.

It will be £2.80 single, £3.40 return, after 2nd March.

A journey of around one mile - each way.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I see TfW have increased regulated Off Peak Returns by 6%. Can anyone explain how they have been able to do this? My understanding was they could only increase by retail price index plus 1% which would come out at 4.6%.

How are they legally allowed to impose a 6% for regulated fares?

By contrast, Merseyrail has announced its fares are rising by 3.6% (that's the July RPI, as opposed to RPI+1 for DfT and some higher amount for TfW).
TfW does have a habit of correcting historic fare anomalies, with lower increases in the north compared to the south as a result.
I don't know if this has happened this time.
TfW fares in England (eg Chester-Manchester) probably follow the DfT rules.

 

[redreni]

Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay has to be the (if not one of the) most expensive fares in the country.

It will be £2.80 single, £3.40 return, after 2nd March.

A journey of around one mile - each way.

City Thameslink to Blackfriars is £7.80 return and that's only a few hundred yards. I imagine nobody at all buys that ticket unless they're short-faring!

 

[Haywain]

City Thameslink to Blackfriars is £7.80 return and that's only a few hundred yards. I imagine nobody at all buys that ticket unless they're short-faring!

But there's a contactless alternative.

 

[trainJam]

The Chiltern Birmingham to London Travelcard Zones 1-6 Family tickets seem to have changed how they are setup and also seem to be going up quite steeply if I'm not mistaken:

Before:

Look up fares for any train journey in Britain

Full details of all British rail Single, Return & Season tickets and Travelcards. Built-in Season Ticket Calculator.

www.brfares.com

After:

Look up fares for any train journey in Britain

Full details of all British rail Single, Return & Season tickets and Travelcards. Built-in Season Ticket Calculator.

www.brfares.com

 

[Leogilbert007]

Just tried to input a few journeys for this Sunday 02/03/25 (with a railcard) into both the Southern app and TrainSplit, and received error messages + no results on both. Journeys for the day before work fine. Do any knowledgable people know why this is?

EDIT: ignore the above post, it was an issue on my end

 

[CyrusWuff]

The Chiltern Birmingham to London Travelcard Zones 1-6 Family tickets seem to have changed how they are setup and also seem to be going up quite steeply if I'm not mistaken.

They've been £29 Adult and £1 Child since January 2020, so they're well overdue an increase.

The equivalent individual Travelcards (namely the Off-Peak, rather than the Super Off-Peak) are £72 for Adults and £36 for Children, so it's still good value.

If you don't mind a later arrival into London and a PM peak restriction, the Super Off-Peak Travelcard is £47.80/£23.90.

 

[Mark J]

Whilst some may think that the latest round of fare rises is justified, I do not share that view.

All we ever see is increasing fares but no real improvements to the service, punctuality and reliability provided.

There will be a point where most just say 'enough is enough'

It has really filled me with glee today, knowing my train fare has gone up 4.9% overnight. Yet with XC, the same old short formations and overcrowding still carries on - and will do so for many fare increases to come.

As for the DfT, a clueless bunch of bureaucratic idiots. They still (wrongly) believe the LNER style pricing is the way forward. When there have been many articles recently stating it has just led to an increased number paying even more. Very few have benefited from this so called 'fares reform'.

 

[Lampshade]

Absolutely disgusting, Northern should show improvements and demonstrate consistency in said improvements for at least the remainder of 2025 before being allowed to raise fares.

 

[Halwynd]

Whilst some may think that the latest round of fare rises is justified, I do not share that view.

All we ever see is increasing fares but no real improvements to the service, punctuality and reliability provided.

There will be a point where most just say 'enough is enough'

It has really filled me with glee today, knowing my train fare has gone up 4.9% overnight. Yet with XC, the same old short formations and overcrowding still carries on - and will do so for many fare increases to come.

As for the DfT, a clueless bunch of bureaucratic idiots. They still (wrongly) believe the LNER style pricing is the way forward. When there have been many articles recently stating it has just led to an increased number paying even more. Very few have benefited from this so called 'fares reform'.

I agree.

I've come to the conclusion that the railway has simply lost its way; it has generally poor management, no overall leadership, costs out of control, poor industrial relations on all sides, and governments which have forgotten why public transport exists.

And passengers are paying for it.

 

[JonathanH]

Whilst some may think that the latest round of fare rises is justified, I do not share that view.

All we ever see is increasing fares but no real improvements to the service, punctuality and reliability provided.

There will be a point where most just say 'enough is enough'

More an 'unfortunate economic reality' than 'justified'.

Absolutely disgusting, Northern should show improvements and demonstrate consistency in said improvements for at least the remainder of 2025 before being allowed to raise fares.

If that happened, would they be allowed to raise fares by a significant amount if the service did get better, and where would the money come from to fund staff pay increases and higher operational costs? It seems fine to ensure that no one profits from bad performance, but I'm not sure who takes the hit if Northern, which let's not forget is nationalised, can't recover the higher costs.

 

[yorkie]

If that happened, would they be allowed to raise fares by a significant amount if the service did get better....

No, that's something you just made up.

...and where would the money come from to fund staff pay increases and higher operational costs?

Many other countries do a far better job than the UK in terms of keeping rail fares affordable.

It seems fine to ensure that no one profits from bad performance, but I'm not sure who takes the hit if Northern, which let's not forget is nationalised, can't recover the higher costs.

None of this justifies the sort of fare increases we're seeing (while the cost of motoring - in relative terms - reduces)

 

[Sonic1234]

Whilst some may think that the latest round of fare rises is justified, I do not share that view.

Agreed. But fare rises will bring more money into the railway, demand is reasonably inelastic. Rail has the niche of providing transport for journeys which are hard to do another way, and is happy being the transport option for those few percent of journeys. Even for leisure journeys, people use the train for those journeys which are tough to drive (London, other large cities, events) or to allow them to drink on nights out. Capacity is an issue on a lot of routes, except at the extremes of the route or at unpopular times of day, so if a few people decide this fare rise is the straw that broke the camel's back, other people will fill the gap.

I'm of the opinion that the Government would prefer you to drive, and that "modal shift" is just a buzzword.

 

[Starmill]

The real culprit is Rachel Reeves for her relentlessly demanding net subsidy reduction. It's the only thing they're really interested in. Reeves and Starmer have barely departed from the old, failed model used by the governments of the previous five Prime Ministers. Such changes aren't particularly difficult to implement, for example the Catalán and Spanish central governments have implemented a palatable agreement on fares policy despite not really being that different economically from the UK. The answer is simply that they think per pound spending our money on greater subsidy for car drivers will win them more votes in 2029 than buses or trains would.

I'm of the opinion that the Government would prefer you to drive, and that "modal shift" is just a buzzword.

Indeed. The government would never allow fares to rise above CPI otherwise, as the largest perceived barrier to train travel is high prices.

 

[Sonic1234]

The real culprit is Rachel Reeves for her relentlessly demanding net subsidy reduction

Don't forget the increase in NI pushing up costs.

Moving away from the old model would require an ambition for rail to grow beyond it's ~5% market share. They will be betting on more people returning to the office, and hiding the fares using contactless to achieve growth. Project Oval is all about reducing the amount of thought that goes into the fare - how many Oyster users in London know the price of their journey, or that it costs more today than yesterday?

The answer is simply that they think per pound spending our money on greater subsidy for car drivers will win them more votes in 2029 than buses or trains would.

They're probably right. Most people will tell you they need a car, whereas getting a bus or train is a chore. Whether they truly need to drive or have been conditioned to think this is another matter.

 

[bakerstreet]

Whilst some may think that the latest round of fare rises is justified, I do not share that view.

All we ever see is increasing fares but no real improvements to the service, punctuality and reliability provided.

There will be a point where most just say 'enough is enough'

It has really filled me with glee today, knowing my train fare has gone up 4.9% overnight. Yet with XC, the same old short formations and overcrowding still carries on - and will do so for many fare increases to come.

As for the DfT, a clueless bunch of bureaucratic idiots. They still (wrongly) believe the LNER style pricing is the way forward. When there have been many articles recently stating it has just led to an increased number paying even more. Very few have benefited from this so called 'fares reform'.

My off peak TfL single fare (3 zones, not zone 1) has gone up by 15.8% on Oyster.
To me this is unjustifiable.

 

[Watershed]

My off peak TfL single fare (3 zones, not zone 1) has gone up by 15.8% on Oyster.
To me this is unjustifiable.

Absolutely. Some enormous TfL PAYG fare increases have been snuck through under the guise of the "average" 4.6% increase.

 

[bakerstreet]

Absolutely. Some enormous TfL PAYG fare increases have been snuck through under the guise of the "average" 4.6% increase.

Here’s a handy table
Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...lizabeth-line-london-overground-b1199889.html

(Apologies I don’t know how to convert to text for screen reader.)

 

[Watershed]

Here’s a handy table
Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...lizabeth-line-london-overground-b1199889.html

(Apologies I don’t know how to convert to text for screen reader.)

View attachment 175611

There's also a table in the PDF copy of the relevant Mayoral decision, which should be possible to copy & paste.