Regulated
rail
fares
in
Wales
will
rise
by
5.9
per
cent
next
month,
in
line
with
the
change
in
England.

The
Welsh
Government
has
blamed
the
‘disappointing’
budget
settlement
from
the
UK
government,
saying
that
it
meant
a
fares
freeze
or
even
a
lower
rise
could
not
be
funded.

In
a
written
statement,
deputy
minister
for
climate
change
Lee
Walters
said:
‘We
understand
this
is
a
significant
increase
for
passengers
in
the
current
cost
of
living
crisis
but
we
have
tried
to
keep
the
increase
as
low
as
possible.
Unfortunately
given
the
disappointing
budget
settlement
from
the
UK
Government
we
cannot
afford
to
deliver
a
lower
increase
or
a
wholescale
freeze
of
rail
fares
in
Wales.

‘Our
budget
settlement
from
the
UK
Government,
combined
with
a
reduced
farebox
income
post
pandemic,
means
we
face
some
difficult
choices
if
we
are
to
maintain
the
current
level
of
provision
of
rail
services
in
Wales.’

Around
45
per
cent
of
fares
are
regulated.
They
include
season
tickets,
some
off
peak
returns
on
longer
journeys
and
some
Anytime
fares.

They
are
grouped
into
’baskets’,
and
the
5.9
per
cent
increase
will
be
applied
to
the
total
of
these
baskets
from
5
March.
The
result
is
that
individual
fares
may
go
up,
while
others
will
stay
the
same
and
some
could
be
reduced.

Lee
Walters
continued:
‘We
recognise
rail
fares
are
far
more
complicated
for
passengers
than
they
need
to
be.
That
is
why
we
have
asked
Transport
for
Wales
to
deliver
simple,
integrated
ticketing
to
help
make
public
transport
easier
and
more
affordable.
In
addition,
despite
the
challenging
financial
position,
Transport
for
Wales
are
retaining
a
range
of
cheaper
fares
for
passengers,
including
free
travel
for
children
when
they
travel
with
a
fare
paying
adult.

‘Despite
the
constraints
to
our
budget
we
are
continuing
our
£800
million
investment
on
brand
new
trains
as
well
as
improvements
to
passenger
facilities
and
comfort.
These
new
trains
are
coming
into
operation
now
and
we
are
confident
that
they
will
encourage
more
people
to
use
rail.’

Meanwhile,
Northern
has
attributed
a
fall
in
the
number
of
penalty
fares
to
last
month’s
increase
on
National
Rail
from
£20
to
£100.
The
operator,
which
is
nationalised,
said
the
number
of
people
travelling
without
tickets
or
a
similar
authority
had
come
down
by
10
per
cent
to
3,831
during
the
first
month
of
the
higher
charge.

Commercial
and
customer
director
Mark
Powles
said:
‘A
sudden
10
per
cent
reduction
in
the
number
of
penalty
fares
being
issued
would
suggest
the
increase
to
£100
has
been
effective
in
terms
of
a
deterrent.
Of
course,
this
is
only
the
first
month,
but
it
is
definitely
a
step
in
the
right
direction.’