Commuters being ‘priced off the railways’ as fares rise yet again

No festive cheer this Christmas for passengers

Average rail fares for Southeastern services are to rise by just under 2% next year.

The above-inflation hike means more financial pain for travellers on what is the country’s largest network.

It means commuters would have to find an extra £100 on a Southeastern season ticket currently costing £5,000.

The company said average fares across all services meant ticket prices rising by 1.8%.

However, some services could see price increases on unregulated and off-peak services above that figure and nationally, fares are to increase by 2.3%.

Regulated fares – peak time services and season tickets – have been capped at 1.9%.

Ticket prices on some Southeastern services, notably HS1, are already among the highest in the country.

A Southeastern spokesman said: “The overall average fare rise for Southeastern next year is 1.8 per cent, which is below the national average of 2.3 per cent.

“It is also slightly under the national rise set by the government’s for regulated fares of 1.9 per cent – which is for season tickets and peak time fares.

“We understand that value for money is a priority for our pas- Southesastern has said the 1.8 per cent rise is below the national average of 2.3 per cent sengers and that Is why we are offering discounts and freezing prices on specific off-peak fares, which are the ones under our control.

“For example, our online advance fares, which are already our cheapest tickets, are being frozen at January 2016 prices.”

The company added that it was investing millions of pounds refurbishing trains and stations, and providing better quality information to help people with their journeys.

A 1.9% increase would see an annual season ticket to London from Rochester will increase from £3,912 to £3,986 – up £74.

An annual season ticket from Canterbury to London will go up by £97, from £5,128 to £5,215.

Campaign groups said a further increase in fares would make train travel prohibitive for many.

Lianna Etkind, public transport campaigner from Campaign for Better Transport, said: “With next year’s regulated rail fares rising by nearly 2 per cent, with some unregulated walk-on fares rising even further, people are now finding themselves priced off the railways.

“The train operating companies and the government need to work closely together to provide fairer, simpler and cheaper fares making sure people are always sold the cheapest ticket available.”

An annual standard class highspeed season ticket from Ashford International costs £6,116.00 – more if the London Underground service is included.

Southeastern is operated by Govia, a joint venture between leading transport operators GoAhead and Keolis.

It is one of the busiest parts of the train network, carrying 640,000 passengers on 1,922 train services every weekday.

There is certain to be anger if Southern – which runs services from Ashford and Tonbridge – hike up fares after months of disruption caused by an on-going industrial dispute about guards being taken off trains.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has recently confirmed fares across the Transport for London (TfL) network will be frozen from January 2020.

‘The train companies and government need to work together to provide cheaper fares, making sure people are always sold the cheapest tickets’