Fares income on the railway rose by £2.2 billion to £8.6 billion in financial year 2022-23, but while Government support fell to £11.9 billion it remains 59.8% higher for the operational railway than before the pandemic.
The Office of Rail and Road’s full year statistics show the number of passenger journeys increasing by 39.9% to 1.4 billion – around 300 million less than pre-pandemic levels. Average passenger fare per journey was £6.20, a 4.7% decline on the previous year and more than 10% lower than three years ago. The regulator says that because regulated fares were pegged to average earnings growth rather than the higher Consumer Price Index inflation measures, rail fares fell in real terms.
Operational income of £22.7 billion represented a £1.4 billion increase over 2021-22, but when adjusted for inflation represented a real terms fall of £0.8 billion or 3.2% over the previous year. Franchised operator fares accounted for £8.4 billion of the income, with another £600 million coming from other sources and £210 million from non-franchised passenger operators.
Overall Government funding was £21.1 bi…
