Commuters in Hampshire and Surrey could save hundreds of pounds this year after the Government froze regulated rail fares for the first time in 30 years.

From this week, season tickets, peak returns and off-peak intercity fares across England have been held at 2025 prices, avoiding a planned 5.8 percent increase.

The Department for Transport said the move will save passengers £600 million nationally in 2026-27, with significant benefits for busy commuter routes into London from towns across the South.

A typical Woking commuter travelling three days a week on a flexi-season ticket will save £173 a year. Those travelling from Guildford to London Waterloo would save £199.50 compared with the notional 2026 fare rise.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the freeze would “put more money in working people’s pockets” and make train travel more affordable. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said commuters on some routes would save more than £300 a year.

While specific savings vary by ticket type, passengers from major Hampshire stations including Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton Central and Portsmouth & Southsea will avoid the 5.8 percent rise that would otherwise have come into force.

On longer-distance commuter routes nationally, such as Watford Junction to London Euston, travellers would have paid £151.50 more under the planned increase. Ministers said similar proportional savings will apply to season ticket holders from Hampshire towns travelling into London.

The freeze applies to all regulated fares, covering more than a billion passenger journeys a year.

Alongside the fare decision, the Government confirmed changes to ticket refund rules aimed at reducing fraud. From April 1, most walk-up tickets, including Anytime and Off-Peak fares, will no longer be refundable on or after the date they become valid for travel unless there has been disruption or exceptional circumstances.

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said the changes would help prevent deliberate fare-dodging and keep money in the railway.

The fares policy forms part of wider plans to establish Great British Railways, a new publicly owned body that will run and manage rail infrastructure and services. Ministers said freezing fares while reforming the system is intended to support town centres, encourage more people back onto trains and ease cost-of-living pressures for commuters across Hampshire and Surrey.