THE Retail Price Index rose by 1.6 per cent in July, mainly because of higher prices for road fuel.
The July RPI has been used for many years to decide the New Year changes to rail fares, but this link has to be confirmed each year by ministers.
An announcement about any changes to fares in January is awaited from the Department for Transport.
The Rail Delivery Group has pointed out that the decision will be made by government. The RDG’s director of nations and regions Robert Nisbet said: ‘Decisions about regulated rail fares, including season tickets, are taken by governments who rightly make the choice about the balance between how much farepayers and taxpayers contribute. We know that the best way to support economic recovery now and keep fares down in the future is to get more people travelling by train.’
Meanwhile, the RMT union says if there is a rise then that will be proof that the government is ‘out of touch’.
The RMT’s senior assistant general secretary Mick Lynch said: ’The fact that this Government appears to be pushing ahead with yet another extortionate fare rise in January shows just how out of touch they are. This regressive fare increase hits the low paid hardest and will only serve to price more passenger off our railways and push even more people into their cars at a time when rail is in crisis.
’What we urgently need to see is bold and innovative leadership to give passengers what they want, a publicly owned railway with affordable and flexible ticketing that’s good value and suits their needs as part of the Covid-19 recovery.’