The price hike was announced in November by the Rail Delivery Group and is lower than the 2019 increase of 3.1 percent. Ticket fares have increased despite the fact that fewer than two-thirds of trains were on time last year.
Around 40 percent of annual ticket price rises are managed by governments in England, Scotland and Wales.
To determine the new fares, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) for the previous July is used as a measure; last year RPI inflation was 2.8 percent.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) is the most common measure of inflation and is lower than the RPI.
This has led to rail passenger groups to demand a change in the way fares are calculated, citing the fact RPI inflation has not been considered a national statistic by the National Audit Office since 2013.
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The average rises for each rail company in 2020 are:
– c2c: 2.6 per cent
– Caledonian Sleeper: 0 percent
– Chiltern Railways: Three percent
– CrossCountry: 2.8 percent
– East Midlands Railway: 2.6 percent
– Govia Thameslink Railway (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink): 2.7 percent
– Grand Central: 2.8 percent
– Great Western Railway: 2.7 percent
– Greater Anglia (includes Stansted Express): 2.6 percent
– Heathrow Express: 0 percent
– Hull Trains: 0 percent
– London North Eastern Railway: 1.2 percent
– London Northwestern Railway: 2.8 percent
– London Overground: Vast majority of single fares are frozen but Travelcards and price caps will increase by an average of 2.8 percent
– Merseyrail: 2.8 percent
– Northern: 2.5 percent
– ScotRail: 2.4 percent
– South Western Railway: 2.8 percent
– Southeastern: 2.8 percent
– TfL Rail: Vast majority of single fares are frozen but Travelcards and price caps will increase by an average of 2.8 percent
– TransPennine Express: Did not provide a figure for the average increase across all its fares
– Transport for Wales: Fares will be reduced by an average of 1.1 percent
– Avanti West Coast: 2.7 percent
– West Midlands Railway: 2.8 percent
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The Rail Delivery Group’s director of nations and regions, Robert Nisbet, said train companies were investing in improving journeys while holding fares below inflation.
He added this year will see an extra 1,000 weekly services and 1,000 additional carriages across Britain’s rail fleet.
But shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald accused the government of failing to support public transport or tackling climate change, road congestion and air quality.
He said: “Today’s average fare increase means ticket prices have risen by 40 percent since 2010.
“In contrast, rail fares in Germany were cut by 10 percent yesterday.
“Labour pledged to cut rail fares by 33 percent to encourage people to get out of their cars and get on the train.”
The Trade Unions Congress said a person earning an average salary in the UK would have to spend 16 percent of their wages for a season ticket from Chelmsford to London (£511 a month), but similar commutes would cost two percent of the average salary in France, and four percent in Germany and Belgium.
Bruce Williamson, of pressure group Railfuture, claimed fares are “outstripping people’s incomes”.
He said: “Welcome to another decade of misery for rail passengers.
“How on earth is the government going to meet its climate commitments by pricing people off environmentally-friendly trains and on to our polluted and congested roads?”
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced a new fund will be created to support trials of more flexible fares across the country as part of improvements focused on “putting passengers first”.
Independent watchdog Transport Focus says more than half rail users (53 percent) do not feel train ticket prices offer value for money.
Protests against the fare increases were held on January 2, including a demonstration outside London King’s Cross station.
They will also be held outside several other UK train stations.