LABOUR’S rail nationalisation must also bring “real change” on fares, campaigners demanded today as new figures signalled that further increases could be on the horizon.

The Office for National Statistics found that rail fares could rise by at least 3.6 per cent when measured according to the latest retail prices index inflation figures. 

Rail fares had historically been set using RPI, which until 2023 was used by the governments to set the cap on rises in regulated fares in England.

The Department for Transport has not confirmed whether it will be used to determine future fare rises.

Labour has pledged to introduce affordable fares under its plan to bring much of the rail system under public ownership when existing private contracts come to an end.

Johnbosco Nwogbo, lead campaigner at public ownership group We Own It, said: “After 30 years of ever-increasing fares in exchange for endless cancellations and a shoddy service, the government has now set our railway on the right track.

“But rail nationalisation must also bring real change on fares. British passengers pay some of the highest fares in Europe.

“With the reforms the government is introducing to the railway, they have a historic opportunity to create a rail fares policy that puts passengers and planet first.

“With temperatures hitting historic highs, our railway can be a lever in the fight against climate change by luring drivers back to the trains.”

A recent RMT analysis shows that the railway loses £1.5 billion to profits and fragmentation yearly.

If reinvested into fares, it argues it could be used to cut prices by as much as 18 per cent.