Newcastle University students are frustrated at the train fare increase from last Christmas to now, calling the rise “infuriating”.
Newcastle University student, Hester Hutchinson, said that she was “really angry when I realised how much my train tickets had gone up in price on re-booking. It’s infuriating that I have no other option than to pay more.”
Travelling on December 16 last year, her CrossCountry train to Birmingham New Street cost £26.50, while if she were to travel on the same date and time this year, it would cost around £40, totalling a rise of 51% (tickets purchased via Trainline).
According to the Office of Rail and Road, train fares in Great Britain have increased by 5.1% in 2025, meaning it will cost every university student travelling by train more to get home this Christmas than last.
The rise will also not be softened by the rail fare freeze either, announced in November’s budget, since it does not come into action until 2026.
So, if train fares aren’t frozen, what kind of increases are we looking at?
Rhys Hunt, a Newcastle University student, said that he travelled using a splitsave train ticket from Newcastle to Hebden Bridge, via York, on December 15 2024.
With a 16-25 railcard (which gets the user 33% off), it cost him £14.90 to travel from Newcastle to York and £13.95 to travel from York to Hebden Bridge, totalling £28.85 for his journey overall.
If he were to travel on the same date and time this year, it would cost at least £17.10 to travel from Newcastle to York and £8.55 to travel from York to Hebden Bridge.
This would cost £25.65 in total, via LNER then Northern Rail (tickets purchased via Trainline).
The overall decrease can be attributed to the decrease in price to get from York to Hebden Bridge, via Northern Rail, however the price to get from Newcastle to York has still increased, via LNER.
Heather Hewis, also a Newcastle University student, used a 16-25 railcard to purchase her Lumo train ticket home to Stevenage last Christmas.
She travelled on December 14 last year, at a price of £39.44 (ticket purchased via Trainline).
If she were to travel on the same date this year it would cost up to £48.85 (via the Lumo website).
“It’s annoying, I understand everything is going up in price but [this] increase in a year is excessive…”
Heather Hewis, Newcastle University student
This year she is travelling on December 13, costing her £50.54 (via Trainline).
When asked about the increase, she said that she “understand[s] everything is going up in price, but [this] increase in a year seems excessive, especially when I booked this ticket so far in advance compared to last year.”
Despite the fact that Heather booked her train tickets on November 15 this year, a week earlier than she did last year, the price of her train ticket still increased “excessively.”
Here’s how these increases look:
*Note – 2025 prices are based off prices searched on December 2, prices can be subject to change dependent on date purchased.
It can be noted that the train fare from Newcastle to Hebden Bridge has decreased since 2024, however all other train prices in the table have increased.
When contacted, Lumo said that December is “amongst the most popular travel dates in the year, so people do book incredibly early and sign up for ticket alerts when they go on sale.”
They therefore “always recommend booking early for the best value train fares.”
LNER said that “the Christmas period is always a popular time to travel” and advised customers “to plan ahead where possible and book their tickets in advance for best value fares.”
They also said that “a new timetable, which is the biggest transformation on the East Coast Main Line for more than a decade, is being introduced from 14 December 2025. This will see nearly 10,000 new LNER services per year and more than 60,000 extra seats across the week.”
CrossCountry are yet to respond to the claims presented to them.
In March this year, the British government claimed that the increase was necessary in order to invest in the country’s rail systems.
National Rail said that the government uses the money from train ticket purchases to improve the UK’s stations, trains and railway services.
It also claimed that the increase was part of a greater plan to reduce the investment in the train system by taxpayers and instead increase the investment made by the railway users.
So, what can be done to try and save money on your train fare home this Christmas? The National Rail website has some pointers.
It said that to get the cheapest prices, you should book tickets in advance, which you can do from 12 weeks before you travel right up until 10 minutes before.
They also advise to travel at off-peak times.
In a large city such as Newcastle, off-peak times start at 9.30am and tend to end around 4pm on weekdays and run all day on the weekends.
Another tactic can be to buy a railcard.
A 16-25 railcard is advertised by National Rail as the best choice for university students. It gets the user 33% off certain trains across all rail companies.
Visit my Instagram here:
