Conservatives target "perverse" rail pricing and vow investment to cut inequality

The Conservatives have pledged to reform rail ticketing to tackle "perverse" pricing and to strengthen passengers' hands with a new passenger ombudsman.

The party's manifesto, Forward, Together, says that regulation of transport could be improved to "deliver a better deal for customers and sharper incentives for investment efficiency," as it targets the rail sector as a market that is not always delivering for people.

The document reaffirms the previously announced £23bn National Productivity Fund including £1.1bn for local transport and the transport programme it is "working through". In addition, it promises a 'Future Britain Fund,' a sovereign wealth fund to increase investment in infrastructure, and a new Shared Prosperity Fund to replace EU structural funding to invest "to reduce inequalities between communities". 

On cycling, the manifesto states that the party remains committed to the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.