Government urged to cap long-distance rail tickets as 44% of people say fares are too expensive

29 January 2025

With 71 per cent of people saying cheaper fares would make them more likely to travel by train, the transport charity is urging the Government to place tackling unaffordable and complex fares at the centre of its plans to reform the railways.

Campaign for Better Transport wants the Government to start by tackling expensive long-distance, ‘walk-up’ fares, which it believes are harming rail’s competitiveness with other, less sustainable transport modes like driving. Currently, passengers who can book months in advance and travel on specific trains are able to get the cheapest tickets, with costs rising for more popular services during peak times and for tickets bought closer to the day of travel.

Campaign for Better Transport argues that this system penalises passengers who can’t book in advance or need a more flexible ticket and is calling on the Government to:

• Introduce a price cap for both peak and off-peak fares
• Release more advance fares so that people are not penalised for when they book
• Reserve a proportion of fares from each type and different price brackets for sale on the day of travel.

Michael Solomon Williams, from Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Unaffordable rail fares have been a serious problem for many years with potential passengers put off taking the train, and existing passengers priced off the railway. Whilst there have been some attempts to simplify the fares system, root and branch reform is desperately needed. The creation of Great British Railways provides an ideal opportunity for the Government to fix fares for good and create a fairer pricing system that provides more of an incentive to choose the train.”

To help reform rail fares, make rail travel more affordable and encourage more people to travel by train, Campaign for Better Transport has made a number of recommendations for the Government in its latest report, Fix Fares for Good. Read the report in full.

ENDS

For further information please contact the press office on 07984 773 468 (calls only no texts) or communications@bettertransport.org.uk.

Notes to Editors

1. Campaign for Better Transport commissioned Yonder to carry out an online omnibus survey as part of their report, Fix Fares for Good. The fieldwork was undertaken between 17-19 January 2025 with 1,102 respondents across Great Britain. When asked ‘What stops you from travelling more by rail?’, 44% of respondents said ‘train travel is too expensive’; 37% said ‘it is more convenient to drive’; 21% said ‘trains don’t go where I need to go’; 21% said ‘trains are too frequently cancelled or delayed’; 14% said ‘my nearest station is too far away’; 10% said ‘trains are too infrequent’; 6% said ‘none of these’; 5% said ‘other’; and 13% said ‘not applicable: I don’t want / need to travel by train’.
2. When asked ‘How much more likely would the following measures make you to travel by rail?’, 41% of people said ‘cheaper fares in general’ would make them ‘significantly’ more likely to travel by rail; 30% said ‘somewhat more likely’; 22% said ‘it wouldn’t make a difference’; and 7% said ‘don’t know’.
3. You Gov data shows that fares affordability is a key factor behind the public’s support in this process: while two-thirds of Britons (66%) support nationalisation in principle, this falls to only 6% if rail fares were to continue to increase.
4. Campaign for Better Transport operates in England and Wales. Campaign for Better Transport’s vision is for all communities to have access to high quality, sustainable transport that meets their needs, improves quality of life and protects the environment. Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust is a registered charity (1101929).