DELAY IN THE INTRODUCTION OF THE 26-30 RAILCARD

That this House welcomes the Chancellor of the Exchequer's 2017 commitment to introduce a 26-30 railcard which will give holders a one-third discount on rail journeys nationwide; further notes the average 3.1 per cent rail fare increase from 2 January 2019; acknowledges the Rail Delivery Group's promise that the railcard would be available before the end of this year; regrets the decision to delay the introduction of the 26-30 railcard until 2 January 2019 to coincide with the fare increase; notes that by the time the railcard goes on general sale, around one million people who were in the target age range when the railcard was announced will be too old to qualify; and calls on the Government to introduce the railcard as soon as possible, so that people aged between 26 and 30 can benefit from rail fare discounts while travelling to spend time with family over the Christmas period.