Tweet Check

Welcome to RAIL’s new fact-checking service, which aims to answer your questions, debunk the myths, and get to the unvarnished truth behind some of the most common claims and queries we spot on social media.

Numbers game

RAIL’s verdict: This is true, and we ran these figures - which were compiled by TUC (and based on data supplied by the Office for National Statistics and Office for Budget Responsibility) - past senior transport consultant Matt Lovering, who confirmed ABC’s findings.

He said: “To get these numbers you need to take the run of data from 2008-2018, but if you looked at Office of Rail and Road data for 2009-2018 instead then the difference in rail fares is more like 30%, rather than the 42% given here. That is not to say that the point isn’t valid, but as with all statistics the result you get depends entirely on the period you choose.”

Also, remember that fare rises have been pushed harder by government policy since 2007 in order to increase the proportion of rail industry income that comes from passengers, relative to taxpayer subsidy. According to the Office of Rail and Road, passenger income as a share of overall income rose from 57% in 2010/11 to 71% in 2014/15. Passengers are paying significantly more because of government policy.

A fare question

RAIL’s verdict: Fares rises and industry pay awards are calculated entirely independently of each other, but both currently incorporate the Retail Price Index to account for inflation.

For fares, the government annually decides on the overall amount that regulated fares can be increased by the following year, using a formula that is currently RPI +/- 0%.

Meanwhile, since privatisation pay deals have been negotiated on an individual basis between train operators and unions via free collective bargaining.

This means that pay deals will inevitably vary from TOC to TOC, and can often cover more than one year, but they will almost always contain an inflation component which both ASLEF and RMT calculate using RPI.