London Underground fares to go up by 5.8% in 2026

The cost of travelling on the London Underground, the Overground and the Elizabeth line is set to rise by 5.8% next year, the mayor of London has confirmed.

The increase is 1% above the rate of inflation and will come into force in March.

The freeze in national rail fares announced last month will not apply to Transport for London (TfL) services.

Sir Sadiq Khan says he proposes to freeze the price of Travelcards until March 2027 which means the weekly and daily caps will not change, and fares on London buses and trams will not rise.

The mayor 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 agreed with central government in the spending review in June.

He said the freeze on bus and tram fares until July 2026 was “an emergency cost-of-living measure” funded by City Hall.

Sir Sadiq added: “This is the seventh time I’ve been able to freeze bus and tram fares, and it will particularly benefit those on the lowest incomes in our city.

“The plans would mean that only fares on Tube and TfL rail services would now increase from March 2026.

“I also plan to ensure that increases to pay-as-you-go fares on the Tube will be capped at 20p, with many only rising by just 10p.”

City Hall Conservatives criticised the announcement.

In a statement, they said: “Whilst the rest of the country enjoys a fare freeze, Sadiq Khan has burdened Londoners with cost increases that are disproportionately going to affect the young professionals that are the backbone of our city’s economy, as well the other millions of passengers who use these services.”

The Liberal Democrats said the mayor had “failed to make this case to his ‘mates’ in government like he promised he would, he’s now expecting working Londoners to stump up the costs instead”.

The fare rises will apply to all TfL-run rail services, including the Docklands Light Railway.

The mayor said the increase would mean an off-peak pay-as-you-go Tube fare from Tottenham Court Road in Zone 1 to Edgware in Zone 5 would rise from £3.60 to £3.80.

Pay-as-you-go fares on Tube and TfL rail services within Zone 1 only will rise from £2.90 to £3.10 in the peak, and from £2.80 to £3.00 during off-peak and weekends.

A peak-time journey from Upminster in Zone 6 to Cannon Street in Zone 1 will increase from £5.80 to £5.90.

The government capital funding deal is expected to help to replace aging fleets, upgrade signalling technology and improve buses.

The fare rises will be subject to a final decision by the mayor.

London TravelWatch, the statutory transport watchdog for London, said the city already had some of the most expensive public transport fares in Europe.

It said delays to the delivery of new Tube and DLR trains, alongside worsening bus speeds across the capital, “will make the overall package feel like a hard sell to many passengers”.

It added: “Coming on top of last summer’s price rise for concessionary cards and next month’s hike in the congestion charge, Transport for London will need to run ever faster to show it is delivering value for money to the travelling public.”