TRAIN FARES RISE BY £2K IN 10 YEARS
Rail chiefs blasted
COMMUTERS got a new year shock as it was revealed the cost of rail season tickets has rocketed by £2,000 in a decade.
Despite the wallet-busting price hikes, punctuality on the railways has plummeted to a 13-year low. Of 44 season ticket fares published by consumer group Transport Focus, 18 have risen by over £1,000 since 2009.
The increases include a season ticket from Swindon to London which is £2,168 more expensive than a decade ago.
Overall the price of season tickets has jumped 37% in the past 10 years. And a new surge of up to 3.2% could add over £100 to the price of many annual tickets.
The hikes follow another year of timetable chaos, strikes and engineering works.
Campaign for Better Transport chief Darren Shirley said: “Rail passengers suffered atrocious service in 2018 and this latest fare rise will only add to their misery.
He said the news follows “a year of delays, cancellations and overcrowding” and “shows a total disregard for passengers and may leave many wondering what they are paying for”.
IMAGINE if the railways operated like a normal business.
Franchises would get paid only if they provided an efficient and timely service.
And they would promptly go bust if they continually raised prices despite constant delays. Sadly this isn’t the case.
The industry operates in a different universe from the rest of us.
Many commuters get hot under the collar just thinking about how our nation’s rail inefficiency is rewarded.
This is exemplified by the fact that some season tickets have shot up by £2,000 in a decade, despite train punctuality being at a 13-year low.
How this is allowed to continue without question for so long is beyond belief.
The industry was privatised to improve competition and provide value to money. That simply hasn’t happened.
Urgent reforms are needed to bring the industry in line.
Otherwise ordinary commuters will continue paying through the nose for a second rate service.