Transport secretary set to announce 2026 rail fares freeze
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander is set to announce that National Rail fares in England will be frozen in 2026, instead of rising by at least the RPI for July 2025, which was 4.8 per cent. The Scottish Government has already made rail travel cheaper by abolishing peak fares, and this decision will mean that English rail fares will be cheaper in real terms when inflation is taken into account.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is welcoming widespread reports that next week’s budget will include funding for an extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Thamesmead.
New plans for East West Rail have been published following a public consultation, including a reduction in the number of stations between Bletchley and Bedford and a new station at Cambridge East, but the rail unions are opposing Chiltern’s intention to run driver-only trains on the newest section, between Bicester and Bletchley.
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