Rail fares freeze simply not good enough, says Zarah Sultana

Labour have announced plans to freeze rail fares until 2027, which will be the first time this has happened in 30 years. While a freeze is most definitely better than a rise, UK fares are two-and-a-half times higher than the EU average. This means we’d have to freeze rail fares for many years to achieve anything like normality in this country.

One person who isn’t prepared to settle for half measures is Zarah Sultana:

Public transport should be free. https://t.co/6plcYudXzA

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) November 23, 2025

Rail fares freeze

Labour are obviously very proud of the rail fares freeze:

❄️🚄 BREAKING NEWS: Rail fares frozen❄️🚄

We’re freezing rail fares at the Budget.

Our historic intervention will keep travel costs down for hardworking families.

Commuters on the most expensive routes will save hundreds of pounds.https://t.co/HVqfZVMMEb

— Heidi Alexander MP (@Heidi_Labour) November 23, 2025

We all want to see cheaper rail travel. That’s why Labour is freezing fares to help millions of passengers save money. pic.twitter.com/sdXgiFqVot

— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) November 23, 2025

The ASLEF rail union praised the announcement:

🚨 NEW: Rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years.

ASLEF has long been campaigning against transport poverty.

This is the right decision, at the right time, to help passengers be able to afford to make the journeys they need to take.

👏 @Heidi_Labour pic.twitter.com/tXSXsJMqdY

— ASLEF (@ASLEFunion) November 23, 2025

It’s also attracted praise from individuals who haven’t had anything nice to say about Labour for some time:

Very good policy from Labour

Early signal that taking the railways into public ownership means a better deal for passengers – ripped off for too long by privatisation.https://t.co/ryihabXEGc

— Andrew Fisher (@FisherAndrew79) November 23, 2025

Labour plans to bring the entire railway network back under public control by 2027. If this seems at odds with Labour’s stance on privatisation, it’s worth bearing in mind that the rail network was such a shambles that even the Tories had to re-nationalise parts of it. Also, Labour’s plans will not include the Rolling Stock Companies (ROSCOs), as We Own It report:

Three ROSCOs were gifted a trading monopoly out of the privatisation and carving up of British Rail in 1994. Today those ROSCOs own most of the 15,200 vehicles that are registered to run on Britain’s railways, and they make their money by leasing those locomotives, freight wagons, and carriages to the train operating companies. In 2023 the profits of the ROSCOs tripled from £122.3m to £409.7m. Every time you buy a ticket to travel, a proportion of the cost goes on paying the rent being charged by the ROSCOs to the train lines.

They add:

No wonder that Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union, says “there is a racket going on, where the structure of rolling stock leasing has just created massive dividends and massive profits entirely without risk.” Their complex financial arrangements are also very hard to untangle; which is possibly why Labour have not given the same commitment to bring ROSCOs in-house that they have for the train operating companies.

So remember, when you’re on the only train home, crammed together like sardines in a tin and clambering over scores of other commuters to get to your seat or the loo, that for the ROSCOs the gravy train keeps on rolling.

In other words, the rail fares freeze is another half measure from Labour.

Their problem is that parties to their left and right are no longer offering half measures; they’re pushing policies which go all the way:

The greens abolished peak rail fares and gave free bus travel to under 22s.

In Glasgow we’re piloting completely free public transport.

This is simply not good enough … https://t.co/zBd0oN1UST

— Iris Duane 🍉 (@IrisDuane) November 23, 2025

Free transport

In functional countries, they have highly efficient public transport networks which shuttle workers and leisure-enjoyers from place to place. In Britain, we have expensive, run-down trains and buses which somehow cost more than running a second-hand car.

While you personally may like driving, you almost certainly don’t like traffic. To visualise the impact public transport can have on traffic, this is how much traffic you can get rid of with one bus:

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Trains can hold significantly more people than buses, so having a highly efficient expansive rail network could considerably reduce the strain on the roads. At the same time, trials of free and cheaper transport haven’t always reduced car usage (although they still could over a long enough timeframe).

Thinking long-term, it’s becoming increasingly unaffordable for many in the UK to own cars. While free public transport would certainly come with a cost, it could be a lot less than subsidising car ownership for more and more people every year. And remember that we do need transport options for people if we want the carry on functioning as a country. The millions of people engaging in the morning commute every day aren’t there for the fun of it, and without affordable transport, the workforce will grind to a halt.

A rail fares freeze simply doesn’t cut it anymore.

The Future

Until Sultana and Your Party develop a policy then trial it, we won’t know how effective it will be. At the same time, we’re at a moment in time where politicians who strive for something better are a lot more appealing than those who are celebrating tweaks to the status quo.

Featured image via Number 10 (Flickr)