We'll give you the straight answers.

Below are the straight answers to common questions often directed at the rail industry.

Your rail fare explained

Where does money from my fare go?

How are ticket prices set?

Why do fare prices change every year?

Why are fares based on RPI, not CPI?

Buying a train ticket

What’s the difference between travelling during peak and off-peak?

Why do prices change depending on when I book my trip?

Can I get a flexible part-time season ticket?

Will Oyster cards be rolled out nationwide?

Why are you replacing paper tickets for ‘smart’ tickets?

Capacity on trains and the railway

Why is my train crowded?

Can you open new lines or lines previously closed by Beeching?

Can you run more trains?

Can you have double decker trains?

Why can’t you run longer trains?

Why don’t you add extra carriages on busy services?

Travel by train compared to car and plane

Is it cheaper to fly or drive rather than take a train on some journeys?

Train delays and disruption

Why is it hard to run trains on time?

What is the railway doing to improve punctuality?

Why do rail lines close during bank holidays / weekends / Christmas?

Why are services disrupted (as explained by Network Rail)

What are the knock-on effects of a delay?

Running trains more efficiently – driver-controlled operation

What is driver-controlled operation?

Why are there strikes about driver-controlled operation?

Train timetables

Why does the train timetable change?

Who decides what changes are made to the train timetable?

Compensation on the railway

What is the industry doing to make claiming compensation easier?

How do I seek further compensation or submit a complaint about a service?

What happens when delays are caused by the railway infrastructure, not the train company?

Accessibility on the railway

What is the industry doing to improve accessibility?

What is the industry doing to be more inclusive on mental health?

How do people book assistance to travel?

What is the Williams Review?

Railway finances

What is the balance between the money from taxpayers and passengers for running the railway?

Who is investing to improve the railway?

How much subsidy do private operators get?

Is more money invested into cities and the South than elsewhere?

How much profit do train companies make?

Why are we investing in HS2?

What is HS2 doing to benefit the environment?

How ‘green’ is travelling by train?

What is the rail industry doing to make travelling by train greener?

Personal security on the railway

How safe is the railway?

Who are the British transport police?

How are rail companies protecting vulnerable people?

Sign-up for news updates

Get exclusive news updates on the Big Plans and Big Changes