Rail fares in England will be frozen next year for the first time in 30 years, the government has announced.
The freeze until March 2027 will apply to regulated rates, which include subscriptions and off-peak returns.
The most recent rate increase, in March 2025, was 4.6%. Rail fares have traditionally risen in January, based on the July rate of the Retail Price Index (CPI) + 1%, although this formula has not always been followed.
The announcement comes days before the chancellor sets out the government’s financial plans in Wednesday’s Budget, with Rachel Reeves indicating that reducing the cost of living will be a key objective.
However, at the same time the chancellor is also expected to raise taxes to help cover a multi-million pound shortfall in her spending plans.
Around 45% of rail fares are regulated by the government in England, Wales and Scotland, but the freeze only affects travel in England. The announcement also applies only to services provided by train operating companies based in England.
Regulated fares include season tickets covering most commuter routes, some off-peak return tickets on long-distance travel, and flexible tickets for travel in and around major cities.
Train operators are free to set prices for unregulated fares, but they typically increase by similar amounts.
The government said the freeze on rail fares was aimed at “directly limiting inflation” by keeping down “a significant component of daily costs”.
Since 2021, the annual increase occurred in March instead of January.
A government source acknowledged that unregulated rates were likely to continue rising, but insisted they typically followed regulated rates.
Non-regulated fares increased by 5.5% in the year to March 2025, 1.1% above regulated fares, with total rail fares increasing by 5.1% in that period.
Asked whether other ticket prices would rise to offset the freeze on regulated fares, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander insisted the policy was “fully funded”.
She told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg program that regulated tariffs have tended to inform the price of unregulated tariffs and are typically “compared to each other.”
Asked whether the policy would mean the government would have less to spend on improving the transport system, Alexander said investment in the rail network would be protected “because we recognize that investing in this country’s infrastructure is the right decision in the long term”.
The Rail Delivery Group, a representative body made up of UK rail operators, said the freeze would be “good news for customers”.
“We want our railways to prosper, which is why we are committed to working with the government to ensure the upcoming railway reforms deliver real benefits to customers,” a spokesperson said.
Since 1996, the government has regulated some train fares following the privatization of British Rail.
The freeze marks the first point since then that rates will have been frozen, although there have been periods when price increases were below the RPI and a drop in prices following the 2010 financial crisis.
The government estimates the move will save travelers on more expensive routes more than £300.
The chancellor said the freeze was being implemented to help ease cost of living pressures and make “traveling to work, school or visiting friends and family a little easier”.
The Transport Secretary said it was part of “broader plans to rebuild Great British Railways”.
Great British Railways is a public body being set up and is part of the government’s plans to convert parts of the railway system into public ownership.
The government has said it will take over the management and management of roads and trains, “ending years of fragmentation, raising standards for passengers and making travel easier and better value for money”.
The government has said part of its plans for the new body is to “gradually move away from annual blanket increases”.
Labor said passengers had faced “relentless” fare increases every year under the previous Conservative government.
However, shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said: “In government, the Conservatives kept fares on track with below-inflation increases and consistently called for no further increases to protect hard-working commuters.”
Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Olly Glover welcomed the freeze but said it was “too little, too late for millions of commuters who have faced years of skyrocketing price rises”.
He added: “We need a real long-term plan to deliver reliable and affordable rail, not just a temporary political solution days before a strict budget.”
The run-up to the budget has been dominated by months of speculation about what taxes could rise, with multiple potential measures floating in the media.
Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane said the leaks had been “costly for the economy” and “caused paralysis among businesses and consumers”.
“It is the main reason why [economic] growth has stagnated,” he told the BBC.
However, he acknowledged that pre-budget leaks had also occurred under previous governments and that “the budget process has been degraded for many years.”
In response, Alexander said the budget process had unfolded “on shifting sands,” with a downgrade in productivity forecasts and “a very challenging global economic environment.”
The Transport Secretary said there was always speculation before the Budget, but the chancellor had been clear about her priorities while being “open and honest” with the public.
