Merseyrail fares to be frozen for six months to help with cost of living, mayor says

Fares on the Merseyrail transport network will be frozen for six months, in a bid to help people who are struggling with the cost of living, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced.

Regulated train fares in England set to rise by 4.9% on 3 March, but services across the Merseyrail network will now be safeguarded from similar increases.Single or return tickets, day savers and RailPass tickets will remain at their current price until Autumn under the new proposals.

Mr Rotheram said the freeze on ticket prices would help shield passengers from further pressures.

He said: "Given the current economic circumstances as people continue to struggle with the cost of living crisis, we are trying to do everything in our power to make life easier for the travelling public, be it our £2 bus fare cap, or this announcement on freezing rail fares."Travelling around our region should be as quick, cheap and reliable as possible; that’s why I’m building the London-style integrated transport network local people deserve.

"I’ll have further announcements about tap-and-go and smart ticketing coming soon."

After a year of delays and disruption, it was announced last month that the rail operator would offer a full refund to commuters by widespread delays on the Kirkby line following the introduction of a new £500m battery-powered fleet.

Speaking last month at the Liverpool City Region transport committee Neil Grabham, managing director at Merseyrail, said it had been a "challenging year" for the operator. He said: "Despite what were some challenging times, as is always the case when you bring a new fleet into operation, Merseyrail has maintained its place in the top five operators in the country."

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