Rail fares, buy-to-let, bank accounts and insurance

In a move certain to dampen any Christmas spirit, the rail industry has announced that train fares will rise by an average of 2.3 per cent from January 2.

The BBC reports that ‘the increase covers both regulated fares, which includes season tickets, and unregulated fares, such as off-peak leisure tickets’. The hike in regulated fares has previously been capped at July’s Retail Prices Index inflation rate of 1.9 per cent. But unregulated fares face no cap which means that some unregulated fares will go up by considerably more than 2.3 per cent. Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: ‘This latest fares hike is another kick in the teeth for British passengers and condemns them to continue to pay some of the highest fares in Europe to travel on rammed out and unreliable trains.’ Meanwhile, thousands of season ticket holders on Southern Rail, who have endured a shocking service in recent months, will be able to claim a month’s free travel as compensation.