Well at least they ain't wastin' time no more - they're southbound. But enough of my ramblin', man.

Exclusive: Londoners face inflation-busting 5.8% rise in Tube fares

At a glance
• TfL fares are likely to rise by 5.8% next March, as required by the Government’s funding deal (RPI + 1), meaning no freeze for Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line or Travelcards despite the national rail fares freeze

• Typical Tube fares will increase by 5p–20p, raising, for example, a Zones 1–2 peak fare from £3.50 to £3.70, but bus fares may be protected

• City Hall says the above-inflation rise is tied to securing £2.2bn in funding, with money from fares and road-user charges helping to fund new Piccadilly line trains and the DLR expansion

Tube fares in London are set to rise by an inflation-busting 5.8 per cent, Sir Sadiq Khan has confirmed to The Standard.

The mayor made clear that the national rail fare freeze would not result in a similar freeze in Transport for London fares from next March.

It means that passengers using rail services in London, such as the Elizabeth line and the London Overground, will not benefit from the national rail fares freeze.

Nor will passengers who use Travelcards, as the cost of these “combined” tickets – which cover national rail services and TfL services – are also expected to increase by a similar amount.

It could mean the cost of a single Zones 1-2 Tube ticket, for example, between Highbury & Islington and Oxford Circus, would increase from £3.50 to £3.70 for a peak-hours journey and from £2.90 to £3.10 off-peak.

A zones 1-6 Tube journey, such as from Uxbridge to Baker Street, could increase from £5.80 to £6.15 at peak times and from £3.80 to £4.05 off-peak.

Tube fares only increase by 5p or 10p or similar increments, meaning the precise increase may be above or below the 5.8 per cent overall average.

Sir Sadiq said a rise equivalent to one percentage point above the RPI rate of inflation was a condition of the £2.2bn capital funding deal that TfL secured from Chancellor Rachel Reeves in June’s spending review.

He said this requirement – which requires above-inflation fare rises every year until the end of the decade – was “not unreasonable” and was “fair”.The mayor takes the national fare changes into consideration when he sets TfL fares for the forthcoming year.

In March this year, when national rail fares rose by 4.6 per cent, most TfL fares – other than bus fares - increased by the same amount.

However, mayoral sources pointed to four years of partial fares freezes pre-pandemic - and a fifth year before the 2024 mayoral election - as evidence that the mayor did not always replicate what happened nationally.

Last month, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander decided to freeze “regulated” rail fares – those typically paid by commuters – from March 2026, the first freeze in national rail fares in 30 years.

Asked by The Standard whether he would be able to replicate the national rail fares freeze when he sets TfL fares, the mayor made clear this was not an option.

Speaking at the launch of a new ferry across the Thames, Sir Sadiq said: “What Government didn’t announce was individual cities freezing their fares.

“Londoners know that when we had the deal with the Government on the SR [spending review], the Government gave us £2.2bn – the biggest ever multi-year deal we have received in more than a decade.

“One of the things the Government said was that they’d expect us to raise our fares by RPI+1, which pays for around £450m towards capital investment.

“So that was not an unreasonable request from the Government, because the Government’s contributing hugely. They are not unreasonably saying, as grown-ups, we should also contribute. I think that is fair.”

Exact details of the new fares are likely to be published shortly before Christmas.

Sir Sadiq has a long-established practice of keeping bus fares as low as possible, so an “across the board” hike is not guaranteed.

Asked to clarify that a fares freeze was not on the cards for London, Sir Sadiq said: “No. The DfT were quite clear: the announcement from the Government was for a national rail fares freeze.

“So if you go from Euston to Manchester, or from King’s Cross to Newcastle, that was what the Government’s announcement was for. It wasn’t for travelling within Manchester, travelling within Liverpool, or travel within London.”

Travelcards are also expected to rise as they cover the cost of TfL fares and national rail fares.

But there is a risk that TfL’s share of the revenue from Travelcards may not be as high as expected, because of the national rail fares freeze.

Sir Sadiq said City Hall was talking to DfT and the Treasury to compensate TfL for any “knock-on consequences”.

He said: “The good news is that… we are working with them constructively to make sure there isn’t any adverse consequences on London.”

In her letter to Sir Sadiq in the wake of the June spending review, Ms Alexander stated: “The funding in this settlement is provided against an assumed scenario that overall TfL fares will rise by the value of RPI+1 for each year of this settlement.”

Money raised from fares and road user charges is reinvested by TfL into maintaining and improving the capital’s public transport network.

Fleets of new Piccadilly line and DLR trains are due to enter service in 2026, Oxford Street is set to be part-pedestrianised and planning work will begin on extending the DLR to Thamesmead.

The figure traditionally used for the calculation of fares is the July RPI inflation rate – which this year was 4.8 per cent.

The more commonly used CPI rate of inflation was 3.8 per cent in October.

Regulated train fares are those that are set, or regulated, by the Government, such as commuter fares and season tickets.

They exclude fares that train companies can set by themselves, which include first class tickets and advance tickets.

Direct Eurostar trains to Germany will skip Berlin

London is one step closer to getting a direct high-speed train to some of Germany’s most iconic cities.

Eurostar and German national rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) are exploring options to run non-stop services between the UK and Europe’s largest economy, the Department of Transport has confirmed.

Set to start in the early 2030s, the routes would use Eurostar’s new double-decker Celestia fleet, set to be the first double-decker rolling stock operated in the UK and the Channel Tunnel.

If plans go ahead, millions of passengers could reach Cologne in four hours and Frankfurt in less than five hours from the UK capital.

But nothing has been said about a direct service to Berlin, despite Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, praising the idea earlier this year.

As it stands, you must change trains in Brussels to reach German destinations. It takes at least five-and-a-half hours to get to Frankfurt, and a little over four hours to arrive in Cologne.

Shorter journeys, such as those to Frankfurt and Cologne, are seen as more commercially viable than the current 10-hour train journey time to Berlin.

Market studies conducted by Eurostar found travellers are comfortable with international rail journeys of up to six hours.

‘Our research indicates that many would choose rail over air for trips within this timeframe,’ Eurostar told Sky News. ‘This, combined with strong business and leisure demand on this route, is why we have prioritised London to Frankfurt.’

What about Berlin, then?
In July, Mark Smith, an expert in rail travel who runs the popular Man in Seat 61 website, exclusively told Metro that a direct link between London and Berlin is unlikely.

‘If you’re running several trains a day from Frankfurt or Cologne, you can probably justify that. One train a day to Berlin that would take all day, you probably can’t justify that,’ he said.

‘I think it is unlikely that an operator will find a commercial way to run a train all the way to and from Berlin with full customs, border control and passport checks located in Berlin.

‘As distance increases, the track access costs rise, the number of journeys you get out of the rolling stop dramatically reduces – to Berlin, you are basically going to get one journey a day out of a very expensive piece of kit.

‘And yet, the money you can get from London to Berlin isn’t that much greater than London to Brussels because a one-directional flight, which you’re competing with, is about the same cost.’

Will it definitely happen?
That remains to be seen.

This isn’t the first time a direct route between London and Frankfurt has been looked at, for instance.

In 2010, Deutsche Bahn tried (and failed) with proposals for the Inter City Express, which were shelved after it encountered a mass of red tape and complications, including differences in train voltage, crossing borders and tunnels.

This time, DB has been clear that these services will only happen if Germany and the UK work together.

‘Implementation by individual railway companies is considered extremely difficult,’ a spokesperson said.

‘Joint partnerships are therefore crucial.’

Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave said: ‘We’re thrilled to kick off this partnership with DB. It’s a big step towards making travel between London and Germany more sustainable and effortless.

‘By combining Eurostar’s cross-channel know-how and new fleet with DB’s strong presence in Germany, we’re creating a whole new level of connectivity and convenience for our customers. This partnership will help continue to power Eurostar’s growth and bring us closer to our goal of carrying 30 million passengers across our network.’

Sir Keir Starmer also welcomed the plans, saying they bring the UK ‘one step closer to a new rail link that will put Britain at the heart of a better-connected Europe and paves the way for increased trade, tourism and investment’.

With all the diversions through Chippenham going on, Thingley Junction has indigestion.

A new night bus network has now launched in Europe, with routes connecting some of the continent's key tourist destinations.

Run by Swiss transportation company Twiliner, the service aims to close "the comfort gap in long-distance travel".

The sleeper bus began operations in November, with stops across Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain.

It gives eco-conscious travellers another long-distance transport alternative to short-haul flights.

Twiliner claims journeys on their coaches are as sustainable as going by train and save 85 per cent of CO2e emissions compared to flying.

It adds that vehicles run on HVO diesel, a renewable fuel derived from waste fats and vegetable oils.



A night bus with seating like an aeroplane business class
Twiliner has also made comfort a top priority for its coaches, with facilities similar to those found on sleeper trains.

The seats are the first on a bus in Europe to completely transform into beds at the push of a button, allowing travellers to get some shut-eye when they choose during the journey.

The 21 seats (18 located on the upper deck and 3 on the lower) have been modelled on those found in business class on planes, with pillows and blankets provided.



Each seating area also has electrical outlets, a table, and individual reading lights, along with complimentary internet access. There is a small storage compartment to keep personal items within easy reach.

On the lower deck, passengers can get ready for bed in the spacious bathroom and changing room facilities (though showers aren't available).

Also on this level is a snack bar, where travellers can find light refreshments. Coffee and water are free.

In terms of luggage, passengers are permitted to bring one large suitcase that adheres to Twiliner's specifications (maximum 23kg; 80 x 50 x 35cm) plus one carry-on item (maximum 5kg; 50 x 30 x 20cm).

Additional items like bicycles, skiing equipment, and surfboards can be brought on board as long as they have been booked in advance.

Night bus network aims to connect 25 European cities by 2028
When it launched in November, the company started with two routes: Zurich to Amsterdam, stopping in Basel, Luxembourg, Brussels and Rotterdam; and Zurich to Barcelona with a stop in Girona.

Buses run several times a week - likely increasingly to daily next year - and prices begin at around €180 one way.

There are no other scheduled rest stops during journeys, except for obligatory driver changes.

Twiliner notes that their service isn't appropriate for families with small children, as passengers under five years old are not permitted to travel.

Older children are welcomed on board, "as long as they are familiar with long-distance travelling and can take the quiet, sleep-friendly environment into consideration."

Ultimately, the company aims to have a continent-wide network of overnight bus services that complements current night train operations, with a view to connecting Europe's 25 most visited cities within three years.

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 has been delayed between Chippenham and Trowbridge and is now 9 minutes late.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

Great British Railways.
Rail minister Lord Peter Hendy:
A unified operator of track and train will deliver a better passenger experience.
Fares: pay-as-you-go around key cities; on longer journeys, dynamic pricing to manage demand.
And a new GBR ticket app

Indeed. You wouldn't see Siobahn Sharpe and her chums at Perfect Curve making that kind of schoolchild-error.

I suspect that the DfT was keen above all not to generate headlines about cost. Which may have worked; as far as I can detect the media has not reported it.

20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 23:29 will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:09/12/2025 14:32

Not a fan of the new livery, it only looks right if the train is going forwards, and they spend half the time going the other way.

18:57 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 21:18 will be terminated at Reading.
It will no longer call at Oxford, Hanborough, Charlbury, Kingham, Moreton-In-Marsh, Honeybourne, Evesham, Pershore, Worcestershire Parkway Hl, Worcester Shrub Hill, Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link and Great Malvern.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:09/12/2025 15:24

18:57 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 21:18 will call additionally at Shipton.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated: 09/12/2025 16:53

Not a fan of the new livery, it only looks right if the train is going forwards, and they spend half the time going the other way.

Tuesdays and Fridays are my days off (AKA working from home) fortunately It does look pretty grim outside at the moment, a good day to not be commuting.

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59 is being delayed between Chippenham and Melksham and is now expected to be 12 minutes late.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

I have found a tracing I did from the GWR route surveys. It is dated 1877. It shows the goods shed and platforms but no signal box. This was 3years after the gauge was narrowed. Somewhere there is a photo of Melksham supposedly from the 1874 gauge change.

Just... yikes.

I recently commissioned an excellent designer to redesign parts of cycle.travel because I recognise that design is absolutely not my strength. That's for one little website/app, not for an entire nationalised railway.

Redesigning GBR in-house, with a team of people who have presumably never designed a train livery before, is reminiscent of the disaster when Marissa Mayer redesigned the Yahoo logo.