Why do we pay such high train fares?

Did travelling back to university take a big chunk out of the student loan this semester? Travelling to Manchester and back without a railcard can cost almost £100 pounds, and that’s at off peak times. It’s even worse if you want (or need) to make your way further south; today, it can cost you almost £400 pounds for a return ticket from Manchester to London, first class. That’s nearly three times as much as it would’ve cost thirty years ago: a first class return ticket from Manchester to London in 1995 would have cost £134.  

On the 2^nd of March 2025, train fares in the UK will rise by 4.6%, and most rail cards will increase in price by £5. While 45% of train fares are regulated by the UK government, the rest belong to the private companies who own rail companies, meaning the UK public have very little say in the matter. 

Many may blame these prices on inflation. “Everything has gone up in price! The value of money was different back then!”. However, in thirty years, the price of a train ticket has increased at up to three times the rate of inflation. But why? The prices of train fares have simply been out of government and public control, since the late 1990s when train companies were privatised. Since then, the worsening weather, rising cost of infrastructure and even Covid-19 have all contributed to the rising costs of train fares.  

The worsening weather, attributed to global warming, means that train lines have more breakages and require extra maintenance. Train fares then go up to fund this required maintenance. Reports also read that the lack of revenue due to the stay-at-home orders of 2020 means that ticket prices after this were increased, to make up for lost revenue.

So next time you’re on your way home, try not to think about the global warming and pandemics which make travel so expensive. If there’s one thing that may comfort you, at least there’s a 67% chance your train will arrive on time! And doesn’t that just make all the money worth it?