The Liberal Democrats have announced a manifesto commitment to freeze rail fares next year, saving commuters from £115 million in fare hikes across the country.

It comes as analysis by the party reveals rail season ticket holders in Woking have forked out an extra £773 in rail fares since 2019. In Woking, a season ticket to London now costs a whopping £4,516, up from £3,743 in 2019.

The Lib Dem proposals would save commuters in Woking an average of £140 next year. The policy, which would cost £115 million next year, would be funded through a clampdown on tax avoidance and evasion. Uncollected taxes under the Conservatives currently stand at a staggering £35.8 billion a year.

These price rises come in the face of rising cancellations. A Lib Dem FOI has revealed that last year 55,829 rush hour trains were either partly or fully cancelled. This was a 10% rise on the previous year and the worst of any year since 2019.

The Lib Dems have said that passengers should not be paying more for a worse service and that commuters need to be protected from the Conservative Party’s neglect of the railways through a price freeze on fares. The Lib Dems have also pledged to reform the broken fares system by the end of the next parliament.

We need to urgently freeze rail fairs. Commuters across our community have borne the brunt of Conservative chaos, with the price of train tickets soaring whilst services have gotten worse.

During a cost of living crisis, it is disgraceful that everyday passengers are having to pay more for trains which are increasingly delayed or cancelled. That is why a vote for the Lib Dems and I in Woking is a vote to help commuters keep more of their hard-earned money.