How can I complain about an increase in the price of my train ticket?

You should first contact the train operator direct to allow it the opportunity to address your concerns. Contact details for individual train companies can be found on the national rail website.

Train operators employ a commercial strategy in setting fares. Ultimately, if that commercial strategy runs contrary to the broader public interest, it is for the government to consider as part of its fares policy. ORR is not the regulator for passenger fares.

Certain standard class rail tickets are regulated by Government: Transport Scotland (for First ScotRail), Transport Wales (for Arriva Trains Wales) or the Department for Transport (for all other train companies). As such, the amount by which an individual regulated ticket is usually capped at Retail Price Index (RPI) plus a maximum of 1%RPI was 1.4% when the limits were set for this year, so the maximum average increase is -0.4%, representing a reduction in the fare. Southeastern and Northern Rail in the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive area are exceptions, as they are allowed to raise individual fares by up to RPI plus 3%. 

We enforce the Competition Act 1998, which makes it illegal for companies to do certain things, for example, use their powerful position in the market to take advantage of consumers or fix prices and we may conduct an investigation if we have reasonable grounds to suspect the law has been broken. If you think we should look at your fare, please look at our approach to the application of competition law to rail fares and car park charges is set out in our web-based guide and our set of quick reference questions and answers on this topic. If, after reading our guide you still think that we should look at your fare, go to our guidance on how to make a complaint under competition law.

Last updated: 22 February 2010

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