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 announcement has been welcomed by the statutory watchdog Transport Focus.

Transport Focus chief executive Alex Robertson said: ‘Freezing fares will be extremely welcome news for rail passengers who consistently tell us value for money is their highest priority, alongside trains running on time. It should also make it more attractive for people to use the train more often or for the first time.

‘We've always recognised there is a difficult balance to strike in how the railway is funded between fares and public subsidy. That makes today's announcement particularly welcome.’

The train drivers’ union ASLEF has been calling for restraint and campaigning against ‘transport poverty’, which is when people cannot afford to travel for work or educational purposes, and it has also welcomed the freeze.

ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘We are pleased that after 14 years of the Tories pricing people off our railways, this Labour government is helping people to commute to work and travel for pleasure.

‘This is the right decision, at the right time, to help passengers be able to afford to make that journey they need to take, and to help grow our railway in this country. Because the railway is Britain’s green alternative – taking cars and lorries off our congested roads and moving people and goods safely around our country in an environmentally-friendly way.

‘We want to encourage people on to public transport – on to buses and trains and an integrated transport network – and Heidi’s decision, made in conjunction with Rachel Reeves, is a testament to our lobbying and a vindication of our stand.’

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