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Written question asked by Rachael Maskell (Labour) on Monday, 6 June 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 June 2022. It was answered by Wendy Morton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 14 June 2022 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Railways: Fares

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the cost of rail fares in order to increase travel on railways, as the German government has recently announced it will do.

Answer

We have launched a number of measures to help passengers save on rail fares. Most recently, we launched the Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale. Over 1.3 million tickets were sold, offering around £7 million worth of savings for passengers. A number of railcards are also available to passengers that offer discounts on most rail fares.

Taxpayers also provided significant financial support to keep trains running throughout the pandemic, with Government having committed almost £16 billion since March 2020 to ensure vital services continued to run and key workers were able to keep using them. It is important now to put rail finances back on a sustainable footing in a way that is fair to passengers and taxpayers as we recover from the pandemic.

Any new rail fare discounts need to be carefully balanced for their potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
13174
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Costs Fares Railways
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk