Rail fares increase: Northampton to London commuters estimated to pay extra £2.30 a week from January

Rail passengers from Northampton to London are estimated to pay an extra £2.30 a week from January, having saved up to £2,880 over the coronavirus lockdown.

London Northwestern Railway's prices are attached to the Retail Price Index, which defied forecasts to rose by 1.6 per cent in July, from 1.1 per cent in June.

Weekly tickets from the town to London Euston will increase to £146.30, while monthly passes will go up to £561.85, an increase of £8.85, and annual season tickets will rise to £5,852.16, £92.16 increase, according to personal finance experts Bankrate.

Lawrence Bowman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, said: “The annual rail fares increase is set by central government and not train operating companies.

“We are committed to helping customers find good-value fares and to help this we recently launched a new Flexi-Travel ticket offering passengers a five per cent saving on 10 anytime journeys to London Euston.

“We are also preparing to increase the number of seats on trains to and from Northampton from September to help our customers travel with confidence as passengers continue returning to the railway.”

Using Trainline’s season ticket calculator and information on the UK’s commuter towns, Bankrate were able to find out how much Brits have saved depending on whether they bought a weekly or monthly season ticket.

The research found that commuters from Northampton railway station saved the third-most in the country when told by the government to work from home where possible due to Covid-19.

Over the 20 weeks from March to August, passengers on a £144-a-week season ticket saved £2,880, the biggest saving behind Peterborough and Wellingborough to London.

While savings over four months for a monthly season ticket, worth £553-a-month, was £2,212.00.

Bankrate spokesperson Nisha Vaidya said: “Between March and August this year, the UK government encouraged the British public to work from home in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

"As a result, almost half of British adults began working remotely and consequently swapped out their daily commute for a short walk to their home office or makeshift workstation.

"When investigating the UK’s commuter towns, we have found that city-workers from Northampton have been able to save thousands of pounds this year which would otherwise have been spent on train fares.

"With yesterday’s announcement that train fares could increase by 1.6 per cent in January 2021, people living outside of the UK’s cities could save even more if they continue to work from home for the foreseeable future.”

For more information about Bankrate’s research, visit bankrate.com/uk/mortgages/commuter-savings.