Regulated rail fares in England have been capped at the rate of inflation for a second year in a row.
Chancellor George Osborne said that no regulated fare would increase by more than 2.5 per cent in 2015, in a move which will cost the government £100 million.
Fares in England were expected to rise by an average of 3.5 per cent following the publication of July’s inflation figures.
Fares were originally expected to rise by 6.2 per cent in 2013, using the former RPI + 3 per cent calculation. Osborne initially reduced regulated increases to RPI + 1 per cent, and then in the Autumn statement, capped them at the rate of inflation.
Osborne said: “Support for hardworking taxpayers is at the heart of our long term economic plan. It’s only because we’ve taken difficult decisions on the public finances that we can afford to help families further.”
