Train ticket fares rise again

[rascal]

An average 2.8% increase in rail fares comes into effect on Thursday, pushing the cost of some commuter travel to more than £5,000 a year.

The increase is the smallest rise in four years, according to the pan-industry Rail Delivery Group.

Chancellor George Osborne said in last month's Autumn Statement he would keep fares in line with July's Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation rate of 3.1%.

But campaigners say that fares are rising three times faster than incomes.

Some regulated tickets, including season tickets, anytime and off-peak tickets, have risen on average by 3.1%.

The increase pushes the cost of some annual season tickets to more than £5,000 a year.

Transport Minister Stephen Hammond told the BBC: "Fares are rising but at the lowest they've ever done in the last decade and that's because this government recognises the concerns that people have about rail fares.

"Also this government is investing £16bn in the maintenance and upgrade of our railways over the next five years to ensure that there will be benefits for passengers like extra capacity."

Shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh said: "David Cameron's cost-of-living crisis continues as fares rise this week by up to 5%, while season tickets have gone up by 20% under this government, costing hard-working commuters hundreds of pounds.

"Over the last three years David Cameron has failed to stand up for working people, allowing train companies to hit passengers with inflation-busting fare rises of up to 9%."

Passengers travelling to London from Deal and Dover Priory will have to pay £5,012 annually, up from £4,864.

And the price of an annual season ticket from Basingstoke to London will now go up from £3,952 to £4,076.

Unregulated fares are not capped. But a number of these, typically off-peak leisure tickets - including some on the East Coast route - have gone up by much less than 3.1%.

Elsewhere in the UK:

Wales: Season tickets will go up by less than inflation, future average ticket rises to be in line with RPI inflation rate
Scotland: Regulated peak fares to be capped at RPI this year and next, regulated off-peak fares frozen
Northern Ireland: No planned rises
London: Transport for London fare rise delayed until 19 January
'Poorly served' passengers
Rail campaigners will be at London King's Cross station on Thursday, alongside Aslef train drivers' union leader Mick Whelan and RMT transport union head Bob Crow, calling for public ownership of the railways.

More than 50 Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, Plaid Cymru and SNP MPs have signed a parliamentary motion calling for the renationalisation of the UK's railways.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Rail passengers and taxpayers are being poorly served by a privatised rail service that has failed to deliver any of the efficiency, investment and cost savings that privatisation cheerleaders promised

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25567969


Angry is not the word.

 

[Brennan]

Somebody on Radio 2 made a point about the price, saying that a return car journey from Southampton to London would cost far more than the £10 return fare equivalent which an annual season ticket costs.

Interesting point i reckon.

 

[Baines' left foot]

They're expensive enough as it is. Granted I left it late but I've just spent £80 to get to London and back, and then I spent a further £25 on the tube and overground once I was there. Scandalous.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Is a harsh, yet expected, blow. Equally sad, although equally expected, that groups are playing politics with this. I mean prices went up just as much under Labour, and the unions regularly go out on strike to get even more generous salaries for rail workers.

Suppose it's too much to ask people to stop taking us for mugs.

 

[Woolly Blue]

I do some work for Network Rail and RSSB occassionally.

The money to fund the network has to come from a combination of the taxpayer and the paying public. Ignoring HS2 the money is needed to, among other things make sure the network is safe. We've seen the effect when the network isn't safe, so that's not an option.

You can probably argue that the system doesn't spend the cash efficiently, and there's some truth in that, but you either pay more as a taxpayer and restrict pay rises to inflation - <n> or you pay more to travel.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Guess that's the crux of it, and if you look at it in strict supply/demand terms, passenger numbers are incredibly high, so people must think it's still worth it.

 

[formerly manx toffee]

I do some work for Network Rail and RSSB occassionally.

The money to fund the network has to come from a combination of the taxpayer and the paying public. Ignoring HS2 the money is needed to, among other things make sure the network is safe. We've seen the effect when the network isn't safe, so that's not an option.

You can probably argue that the system doesn't spend the cash efficiently, and there's some truth in that, but you either pay more as a taxpayer and restrict pay rises to inflation - <n> or you pay more to travel.

True but nationalisation surely wouldn't make anything more efficient, and I do mean anything !

 

[edge]

Is a harsh, yet expected, blow. Equally sad, although equally expected, that groups are playing politics with this. I mean prices went up just as much under Labour, and the unions regularly go out on strike to get even more generous salaries for rail workers.

Suppose it's too much to ask people to stop taking us for mugs.

outside of drivers some signal boxes, the average rail worker earns less than the national average , Merseyrail, northenrail haven't been on strike for over a decade and both earn a tidy profit for there parent company, which funny enough is part owned by the Dutch national railway, look there for were your money goes , not the workers who by the way had there pensions funds plundered by private companies that had not put hardly a thing in due to Major giving the a two year holiday on there contributions , its the same all over the uk ,Dutch , French ,German and even Chinese state owned railways all getting a nice earner to help run there systems at your expense .
National disgrace, even Thatcher was against it so that tells you all you need to know

 

[HSD]

FFS! It's no wonder me or my friends barely ever go home from Uni - we can't bloody afford it.

Use public transport, they say...

 

[edge]

True but nationalisation surely wouldn't make anything more efficient, and I do mean anything !

in real terms it was two thirds cheaper under BR the figures that have gone to shareholders is mind boggling, the only bit still under government control went from a loss, to profit to the tax payer, after the private company gave the keys back due to loss making and future penalties due to it not hitting service targets , employs hundreds more and passenger satisfaction went through the roof ,guess what its going private before the election and the former owners are favourites to get it back , Dogma rules over sense.

 

[Bigmaclad]

That's more of my student loan I can't spend on booze, sigh.

 

[evilwebby]

2.8% is actually the lowest I can ever remember. It seemed to be 6, 7, 8% for so many years. I still remember when a London zone 4 daily travelcard was about £2.80 not all that many years ago, now it is north of £10.

Think I'll stick to the bike as much as I can.

 

[rascal]

Looked at nationalisation / privatisation of the railways when I was at Uni. Spent a day at the Railway Museum in York so got chatting to some men who had worked all their lives in the railways, each one said privatisation was a **** idea. This was further reinforced by commentators such as Christian Wolmar, Michael Bonavia, David Wragg, Terry Gourvish. (these are some of the names that most stick out in my mind atm).

In the interest of balance, The Railway Gazette were strongly set against nationalisation in the 40's...

 

[edge]

2.8% is actually the lowest I can ever remember. It seemed to be 6, 7, 8% for so many years. I still remember when a London zone 4 daily travelcard was about £2.80 not all that many years ago, now it is north of £10.

Think I'll stick to the bike as much as I can.

it will increase ever year, by 2018 they want to be getting a profit from the rail and putting less in grants, job losses galore and fare rises every year as you know the shareholder will not take a drop.

 

[Walken]

Guess that's the crux of it, and if you look at it in strict supply/demand terms, passenger numbers are incredibly high, so people must think it's still worth it.

I think you might the vast majority have very little choice but to use the trains, high passenger rates are not an indication of public approval of the system