Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the equity of the most recent rise in rail ticket prices.

The Government does understand the concern about the cost of some rail fares and the impact that this can have on people’s budgets. This is why the Government has ensured that regulated rail fares can rise by no more than inflation for the last six years. While this change is unwelcome, it is not fair to ask people who do not use trains to pay more for those who do. Taxpayers already subsidise the network by more than £4bn a year – (54% of our transport budget is spent on the 2% of journeys that rail accounts for).