Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to reduce rail fares after taking franchises into public ownership.

Decisions on fare changes are taken annually and agreed across government. We will always seek to strike a fair balance between passengers and taxpayers as we seek to return the railway to financial sustainability. In November, the Secretary of State confirmed that regulated rail fares will be frozen for one year from March 2026, saving passengers money as we rebuild a railway that Britain can rely on and be proud of.

Looking forward, we are moving away from the outdated, privatisation-era view of rail fares. Instead, GBR will have commercial flexibility to manage its fares revenue in a more agile and efficient manner, allowing it to create a national fares policy which makes more sense to passengers – so that they can more easily understand what fare they should be paying and why. The Secretary of State will retain a role, in order to influence and manage the overall level of fares, balancing the interests of passengers and taxpayers.