Price rise ‘insult’ after a year of chaos on trains
RAIL price increases have been slammed as an insult to passengers from Huddersfield after 12 months of cancellations, timetable confusion, delays and strikes.
Prices on Northern services have risen by 3.1% and TransPennine have increased fares by 3.2%.
But it follows a year of disruption with new timetables bringing chaos of cancellations and delays, as well as strike action impacting on services and many commuters left frustrated by overcrowded and poor quality trains.
One passenger Mike Barnby, from Dalton, said prices should have been frozen to compensate passengers for the last 12 months.
Mike, a dad-of-one, who travels from Huddersfield to Wakefield and back six days a week to work as a support worker, now pays £115 a month for his rail travel. But he said it is not value for money, adding: “The price increase is outrageous.
“The service never gets any better, there are old carriages, which are overcrowded and the seats are poor, if you actually get one.
“We have nothing to show for the increase and the trains will remain the same with cancellations and delays and more strikes.
“You can apply for refund but surely they should have just given the passengers something back and not increased prices.”
In December Colne Valley MP Thelma Walker led a delegation of fellow MPs and rail user groups when they met Transport Secretary Chris Grayling. The meeting followed months of travel chaos for Colne Valley and the surrounding areas, and reports of further disruptions in the future as part of the TransPennine route upgrade.
Slaithwaite, Marsden, Mossley and Greenfield are all amongst the worst performing stations in the country.
Over a four week period in Slaithwaite, just 4% of services ran on time, and 6% of services were cancelled in the same period.
Colne Valley MP Thelma Walker said: “With punctuality at its worst in 13 years and 6 months of chaos on the railways, the 3.2% train fares hike is an insult to commuters and should not have been allowed by the government.
“Slaithwaite and Marsden are two of the worst performing stations in the country yet commuters on the TransPennine route are paying amongst the highest fares in Europe.
“The human cost is significant and I believe this is something the government simply does not comprehend.
“People in the Colne Valley deserve better.”
Batley and Spen MP Tracy Brabin said the latest increase means prices have soared by 36% since 2010 - more than twice as fast as wages.
She added: “Commuters arriving at Batley Station will rightfully feel that this fare hike is a regrettable start to the new year. Given the poor record of services in the last 12 months, where Batley Station was found to be one of the least reliable in the country, it’s frankly insulting to force my constituents to pay more.”
During a visit to Leeds yesterday, shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald MP also said that the hike in ticket prices was too high.
He said: “People are quite right to be furious, especially given the 12 months that they have suffered since the last increase.
“They have not seen the much vaunted and promised improvement in services. In fact the opposite is true.
“They’ve deteriorated, with punctuality and performance at a 14-year low alongside overcrowded, cancelled and delayed trains - to say nothing of the chaos unleashed in May with the timetable debacle.
“This should not be the response of the government to a long-suffering public. They should be treated better than this.”
Examiner readers also expressed their frustration.
Sean Wood said: “They always go up every single year, and everyone is fed up of it all, paying fares when there’s always delays, cancellations, and being crammed on to carriages that resemble sardine tins. Same old ... same old.”
David Hosking added: “They should be made to pay for the people who lose jobs because of the delays.”