Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a regulatory cap on intercity rail fares equivalent to that applied to regulated commuter fares.

In general, commuter fares such as season tickets and shorter-distance peak returns are regulated, alongside intercity off-peak returns. Those are the fares that DfT currently controls, as part of an overly complex system that was designed 30 years ago.

As we set up GBR, we’re untangling this complex system of fares and ticketing, and bringing it into the 21^st century. We know, for example, that the way in which people travel, including the types of routes on which they commute, has changed over time.

We are already taking important steps to address some of these challenges.

This includes reforming long distance fares, as demonstrated through the LNER trial on some of their long-distance network, to move away from the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some “peak” trains run nearly empty whilst some “off-peak” trains are crowded. At the heart of this is making more flexible products available to passengers, and making it easier to choose cheaper, less busy trains, putting passenger choice first and tackling overcrowding.

LNER regularly report on the trial to demonstrate they are meeting their commitment to ensure a greater number of affordable tickets are available to passengers.