Rail fares have changed

What do I need to know?

• From Sunday 2 March 2025, fares changed across the Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express networks.
• As confirmed in the Government’s Autumn Budget last year, regulated fares (including Season tickets, Anytime and Off-Peak) have increased by an average of 4.6%.
• For other fares, we have introduced a combination of fare freezes and fare increases to better match the changes in travel patterns in recent years, whilst still providing great value for money options.
• New Advance fares have been introduced across the Thameslink network, for journeys into and out of London, offering customers some great value options.
  For example, Advance tickets between;
  • Rochester and London will start at £5
  • London and St Albans will start at £5.80
  • London and Brighton will start at £8
  • London and Peterborough will start at £13
  • London and Cambridge will start at £11
  • London and Stevenage will start at £7
  We are encouraging all customers to plan ahead where they can to get the best value, particularly at weekends where services are now much busier.
• For those travelling with kids (5-15), we have frozen our Kids for £2 child flat fare, to continue to provide great value for families travelling together.
• Customers travelling with a Railcard or in a group of at least three can continue to save 1/3 on most journeys.

Why have fares changed?

• Britain’s railways are publicly funded, with all ticket revenue passing back to the government to fund essential public services.
• Like all businesses, the cost of running the railways changes over time in line with inflation and thus the government uses the Retail Price Index (RPI) as a measure to determine price changes within rail. This helps to ensure that changes to costs and revenue remain balanced, preventing rail from becoming an unfair burden on taxpayers and ensuring that the industry can continue to invest in improving services for customers.
• Travel habits since the pandemic have changed greatly and fares need to evolve to meet these changes in demand. The proportion of customers travelling outside the commuter peaks and at the weekends has increased and customers often have a lot more flexibility in the times they can travel. Introducing great-value Advance fares helps to make rail an attractive option for leisure trips, while incentivising customers to book ahead and spread usage throughout the day, which in turn helps us to provide a better experience.

How can I get the best value?

• Plan ahead and save with Advance fares from as little as £7 for some journeys into and out of London. Plan ahead and book up to 12 weeks in advance to secure the best deals.
• Book + travel in a group of 3-9 and save 1/3 on most journeys with GroupSave. Your discount will be applied automatically at the checkout.
• Grab a Digital Railcard and save 1/3 on most journeys.
• Kids (5-15) can travel for as little as £2 with an accompanying adult. Your discount will be applied automatically at the checkout. Even better, kids under 5 travel free!