The newly announced freeze on UK regulated rail fares is a step in the right direction. UK train travel has become so expensive that even short journeys can feel like luxury purchases 🚆💸.
Holding peak and off-peak fares steady is sensible — and long overdue. But if rail is ever going to be a realistic alternative to driving or flying, this freeze needs to be the beginning of something bigger, not just a short-term gesture.
Fares are already far higher
UK rail fares are already far higher than in most comparable European countries. Long-distance intercity travel in Spain and France is generally excellent value, especially when compared with UK peak fares. Even without looking at lower-income countries, those two alone show just how wide the gap has become 🇪🇸🇫🇷.
A fare freeze helps, of course, but it doesn’t undo years of above-inflation rises or the sense that rail is becoming unaffordable for everyday travellers. If the UK wants people to shift from cars to public transport — for affordability, climate or convenience — fares need to become both cheaper and simpler. This freeze only scratches the surface. 🌍🚆
Wider context
What makes this announcement harder to celebrate is the wider context. The Midland Main Line electrification has been cancelled again, despite being essential, long-planned and widely supported ⚡❌.
Meanwhile HS2 remains stalled. The UK has already spent billions tackling the most difficult section — the expensive and contentious stretch through the Chilterns — yet the government still hasn’t restarted the rest of the project. It’s astonishing to complete the hardest engineering and then abandon the parts that would have delivered the real national benefits 🏗️🚄.
So yes, freezing fares is positive. But without serious investment in modernisation — electrification, capacity, and faster long-distance routes — we’re freezing prices on a network that risks falling further behind.
Cheaper tickets matter.
But so does having a railway worth paying for. 🚆✨