London Underground fares are going up – Here’s how much you could pay in 2026
Fares across the London Underground are set to rise by 5.8% next year, despite the government announcing a nationwide rail fare freeze last month.
This freeze will not apply to the London Underground or Overground networks, however, as Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has confirmed to the Standard that tube fares will not be frozen and will rise by 5.8% next year.
This fare increase is significantly above inflation, and comes after a £2.2 billion funding deal was secured by Transport for London (TfL) from the government.
A condition of this deal was that fares on the network would rise by the value of RPI plus 1% every year until the end of the decade.
Fares on the Underground network are only incremented in 5p or 10p increments, making it difficult to predict the precise new rates that commuters will face next year.
Considering a fare rise of 5.8%, the cost of a journey from Zone 1 to Zone 2 could increase from £3.50 to £3.70 during peak hours.
A peak-hour journey from Zone 1 to Zone 6 could increase in price from £5.80 to £6.15, and from £3.80 to £4.05 off-peak.
The rail freeze will not apply to any rail services on the TfL network, meaning those travelling on the Elizabeth line and Overground lines will also face higher charges.
The new, higher tube fares will come into effect in March 2026.
