London commuters set to pay £7,481 per year as train prices rise by 4.9% next week

The cost of a return ticket for commuters will rise by £349 per year for those travelling in the capital.

Commuters in London are going to spend over £7,481 on going to and from work when train prices rise by 4.9% next week.

Research from industry data platform Alt Index reveals that people are currently spending on average £7,131 on return tickets per year but this is set to rise to £7,481 after the Government confirmed the hike to ‘regulate fares’.

This means an increase of £1.34 on return tickets per day for commuters in the capital city while a single fare, getting you to work by 8.30am, will rise by £0.74 per day.

The rise is usually linked to the previous July’s retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation, which for 2023 stood at 9%, however, the Department For Transport confirmed the rise would be capped at 4.9% for 2024.

Prices will rise across the country but London looks to be the worst hit with Cambridge coming in second where people will see their annual commuting cost increase by around £157.

Manchester, Brighton, Birmingham and Bristol will also see their annual return cost go up by over £100 while Liverpool, Cardiff, Newcastle and Leeds will see a rise of over £90.

A spokesperson from industry data platform Alt Index said:  “The increase in train prices will hit consumers hard given we are still grappling with a cost of living crisis across the country. Last month the Bank of England held interest rates at 5.35% for the fourth time while the inflation rate remained high at 4% in January.

“In another blow to the economy, figures showed Britain’s economy fell into recession at the end of last year as people cut back on spending due to rising costs.

“Original figures indicated the Government was going to rise fares by 8%, but the rise was capped at 4.9% rather than choosing to increase the numbers in line with July’s retail prices index (RPI), as it has done in previous years.

“However, commuters will still be hit hard by these above inflation increases and those travelling to and from work 5 days a week will see the impact most, particularly as many companies double down on people working in the office, with costs going up as high as £1.34 a day in London, totalling a staggering £7,481 per year.”