The industry already follows a similar pricing model to airlines for advance tickets, which allow passengers to make substantial savings.

As part of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, the Department is committed to simplifying fares. This means that some ticket types might change in future. The Department will continue to work closely with industry to identify the best way to deliver this vision.

The Department holds regular discussions with the train operating companies (TOCs) who regularly market the benefits of booking in advance. Some TOC websites display remaining availability of advance purchase train specific fares at different prices, but it is a well-established principle that the further ahead the booking is made, the cheaper advance tickets usually are.

We are currently consulting on the legislative aspects of the Plan for Rail with a deadline for responses of 4 August. Legislation will be introduced when the parliamentary timetable allows.

Once established, Great British Railways will be accountable for delivering and improving the offer to customers.

There are a number of railcards available that offer discounts against most rail fares. More recently, we launched the Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale. The Great British Rail Sale helped save families money and connect them with friends and families. Over 1.3 million tickets were sold, offering around £7 million worth of savings for passengers.

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.

We already have a number of measures in place which help passengers to 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.

Young and student travellers, disabled passengers and those over 60 are also offered discounted travel as a requirement of the Railways Act 1993 (Section 28(3)) as amended, because they are likely to be earning less than adults of typical working age. The Act requires that all train operating companies participate in certain approved discount card schemes. A number of railcards are available, offering discounts against most rail fares, which includes passengers from these groups.

Taxpayers provided significant financial support to keep trains running throughout the pandemic, with the 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.

When comparing the difference in costs when travelling using the railway or road network then the costs of driving, such as every day running costs, depreciation and insurance of a vehicle should also be taken into consideration.

There are a number of railcards available that offer discounts against most rail fares, including the Family and Friends Railcard which offers a third off rail fares for adults and 60 per cent off rail fares for children.

More recently, we launched the Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale. The Great British Rail Sale helped save families money and connect them with friends and families. Over 1.3 million tickets were sold, offering around £7million worth of savings for passengers.

The Department takes guidance from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the effects of changes to fares on rail demand. There are a number of factors which impact passenger demand, including most notably in recent times the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel.

Whilst rail fares affect each passenger slightly differently, we have a number of railcards in place that offer discounts against most rail fares. We have saved a generation of passengers at least a third off their fares through the 16-17 and 26-30 ‘millennial’ railcard and went even further in November 2020 by extending these savings to former servicemen and women through a new Veterans Railcard.

More recently, we launched the Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale. Over 1.3 million tickets were sold, offering around £7million worth of savings for passengers.

The Government has announced the Great British Rail Sale, with passengers being offered Advance tickets at up to a 50% discount. Tickets went on sale on 19 April, for journeys commencing on 25 April through to the 27 May.

In developing the Great British Rail Sale, the industry identified routes and times where there is spare capacity to support additional passenger demand and avoid overcrowding already busy services.

We have launched the Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale, which has seen train operators from across the industry come together to offer significant discounts on over a million train tickets across Britain. The Great British Rail Sale will help save families money and them connect with friends and families.

The vast majority of train operators in England are involved, so tickets will be available across the country. In developing the Great British Rail Sale, the industry has identified routes and times where there is spare capacity to support additional passenger demand and avoid busy services.

We have launched the Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale, which has seen train operators from across the industry come together to offer significant discounts on over a million train tickets across Britain. The Great British Rail Sale will help save families money and them connect with friends and families.

The vast majority of train operators in England are involved, so tickets will be available across the country. In developing the Great British Rail Sale, the industry has identified routes and times where there is spare capacity to support additional passenger demand and avoid busy services.

We have launched the Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale, which has seen train operators from across the industry come together to offer significant discounts on over a million train tickets across Britain. The Great British Rail Sale will help save families money and them connect with friends and families.

The vast majority of train operators in England are involved, so tickets will be available across the country. In developing the Great British Rail Sale, the industry has identified routes and times where there is spare capacity to support additional passenger demand and avoid busy services.

The Department uses recommendations from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the relationship between changes to fares and demand and revenues. There are a number of factors which impact revenues, including most notably at the moment the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel.

Whilst the change will affect each passenger slightly differently, we have a number of railcards in place that offer discounts against most rail fares. We have saved a generation of passengers at least a third off their fares through the 16-17 and 26-30 ‘millennial’ railcard and went even further in November 2020 by extending these savings to former servicemen and women through a new Veterans Railcard.

We have protected passengers by delaying these fare rises by two months and, even then, opting for a figure well below current inflation rates.

In May 2021, the Government published The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail – a blueprint for a more customer focused, reliable and growing railway. As the guiding mind for the railway, once fully established Great British Railways will be able to consider in due course what initiatives, such as loyalty schemes, might meet passenger needs and help to grow passenger numbers and revenue.

Rail fares increases will be capped and tied to the Retail Price Index (RPI) figure for July 2021 (3.8 per cent). As in 2021, we have temporarily frozen fares for passengers to travel at the lower price for the entirety of January and February 2022 with fares changing on 1 March 2022, allowing passengers to renew their season ticket at a lower price. The Government has deliberately continued to use the July figure as it was lower than subsequent months. The December RPI figure (latest figure) is at 7.5 per cent.

We have recently introduced flexible season tickets on rail, which provide better value to most part-time commuters than buying daily tickets or traditional seasons. We have also saved a generation of passengers a third off their rail fares, including the 16-17 Saver and 26-30 Railcards and, most recently, the Veterans Railcard. These provide substantial discounts to rail passengers and encourage the use of rail travel.

The Department will also conduct a 12 month review of the flexible season tickets to evaluate their impact. We expect the review to report in the Summer of 2022.

With regards to buses, the National Bus Strategy sets out what we want to see on fares, including low flat fares (or maximum fares and daily price caps) to be the norm within cities and towns.

The flexible season ticket is a national product, priced to provide better value and convenience for commuters travelling two to three days a week, mainly at peak times. The Network Railcard is not valid in the peak, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays), therefore it is not available for peak-time commuting. Passengers are encouraged to consider which product best suits their journey and travel patterns.

The Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook is owned by the Passenger Demand Forecasting Council, of which the Department is a member. As per the Passenger Demand Forecasting Scheme rules only members and associate members of the scheme are granted a license to the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook.

The Department takes guidance from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the effects of changes to fares on revenues. There are a number of factors which impact revenues including, most notably at the moment, the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel.

Whilst the change will affect each passenger slightly differently, the Department has a number of railcards in place that offer discounts against most rail fares. We have saved a generation of passengers at least a third off their fares through the 16-17 and 26-30 ‘millennial’ railcard and went even further in November 2020 by extending these savings to former servicemen and women through a new Veterans Railcard.

The Department takes guidance from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the effects of changes to fares on revenues. There are a number of factors which impact revenues including, most notably at the moment, the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel.

Whilst the change will affect each passenger slightly differently, the Department has a number of railcards in place that offer discounts against most rail fares. We have saved a generation of passengers at least a third off their fares through the 16-17 and 26-30 ‘millennial’ railcard and went even further in November 2020 by extending these savings to former servicemen and women through a new Veterans Railcard.

The Department takes guidance from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the effect of changes to fares on rail demand and revenues.

No analysis has been made on the yield management of the maximum cap set for regulated fares increases for March 2022. While fares changes affect total industry revenue there are also a number of other impacts that affect it. This includes, most notably at the moment, the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel and train operators have the capacity to price many fares more flexibly to maximise commercial revenues.

Increases to regulated rail fares in England will be capped and tied to the Retail Price Index (RPI) figure for July 2021 (3.8 per cent). The Government has deliberately continued to use the July RPI figure as it was lower than subsequent months. In addition, as in 2021, we have temporarily frozen fares for passengers to travel at the lower price for the entirety of January and February 2022, with fares changing on 1 March 2022.

The fares rise in the West Midlands will be in line with the national rise. Rail fares outside England are a devolved matter and decisions regarding fares increases are for the devolved administrations.

We have recently introduced flexible season rail tickets, in England, which provide better value to most two to three day-a-week commuters than buying daily tickets or traditional seasons. We have also saved a generation of passengers a third off their rail fares, including the 16-17 Saver and 26-30 Railcards and, most recently, the Veterans Railcard. Railcard discounts are available UK wide.