The latest figures from TfW might give a further clue as to why they are doing this:
www.railbusinessuk.com
The fact that journeys have increased by more than revenue suggests that growth is focused on shorter distance journeys and/or that split ticketing is becoming increasingly prevalent. So they are possibly trying to counteract that by increasing the yield on medium distance journeys.
That being said, it just seems totally contradictory to be raising fares like this on the one hand, and simultaneously offer huge fare cuts with the rollout of PAYG across the southeast and northeast of Wales.
For example Chester to Rhyl will go from costing £20.20 for a day trip or £22.70 for a period return, to £4.30 for a single, i.e. £8.60 for a return journey (whether same day or not). A weekly season will go from costing £75.70 to £27.70.
Arguably the new PAYG fares are much more in line with what rail travel should cost - but it's hardly going to help with their subsidy or overcrowding problems when they are cutting the fare by that much.
Welsh rail ridership and revenue surge, but staff costs outweigh farebox income
Transport for Wales has reported growing revenue and ridership across its rail operations in 2025-26, while also highlighting progress in delivering major infrastructure enhancements and deploying pay-as-you-go ticketing. The Welsh government’s transport agency reported on July 30 that rail...
The fact that journeys have increased by more than revenue suggests that growth is focused on shorter distance journeys and/or that split ticketing is becoming increasingly prevalent. So they are possibly trying to counteract that by increasing the yield on medium distance journeys.
That being said, it just seems totally contradictory to be raising fares like this on the one hand, and simultaneously offer huge fare cuts with the rollout of PAYG across the southeast and northeast of Wales.
For example Chester to Rhyl will go from costing £20.20 for a day trip or £22.70 for a period return, to £4.30 for a single, i.e. £8.60 for a return journey (whether same day or not). A weekly season will go from costing £75.70 to £27.70.
Arguably the new PAYG fares are much more in line with what rail travel should cost - but it's hardly going to help with their subsidy or overcrowding problems when they are cutting the fare by that much.
