Fare hikes ‘could price passengers off trains’
SCOTTISH rail passengers face being ‘priced out’ of travelling, it was claimed yesterday, as the latest fare increases mean some passengers will see annual tickets rise by more than £160.
Commuters across Scotland will face massive rises in the cost of their peak-time tickets, with a 3.2 per cent increase announced for January.
Those travelling during off-peak periods will face a rise of 2.2 per cent.
The increase means an annual Lockerbie to Edinburgh fare will go up by £162 to £5,250, and a Glasgow to Edinburgh pass will rise by £126 to £4,082.
The move was confirmed yesterday as the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation, which is used to guide the rise of train fare from next January, was announced at 3.2 per cent.
Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the increases were ‘unwelcome’, but stressed action had been taken to lessen their impact.
Staff from rail union RMT staged protests around the UK, including several in Scotland, arguing ticket prices were rising ‘twice as fast as wages’.
Scottish Labour claimed the fare rise would ‘cripple’ commuters.
The party’s rural economy spokesman Colin Smyth said: ‘The rail fare rise is unwanted, unwelcome and unnecessary. It is simply wrong for commuters to have to pay more for train services which are plagued by delays, cancellations and stop-skipping.
‘Thousands of working people may now be priced out from travelling on Scotland’s railways.’
‘Service has been getting worse’
According to the party, the price of an annual ticket from Dundee to Edinburgh will rise by £137 to £4,449, while an Aviemore to Inverness pass is up £99 to £3,203.
Elsewhere, there will be a £69 increase for those travelling between Stirling and Glasgow, with an annual pass costing £2,229, while Inverurie to Aberdeen tickets are up by £46 to £1,498.
The Scottish Government said almost 97million passenger journeys were made in 2017 and £8billion had been invested in the network over the past decade.
But Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Jamie Greene said that the price rises were ‘galling’.
He added: ‘The increases in rail ticket prices have hit commuters extremely hard over the last few years. What has been particularly galling is that while the price has been rising, the service has been getting worse.
‘For too long users of Scotland’s railways have had to endure packed train carriages and regular delays. Any increase in ticket price must come with improvements to the rail service.’
ScotRail has faced severe criticism in recent years following delays, cancellations and overcrowding on trains.
The franchise, run by Dutch-firm Abellio, was forced to implement an improvement plan following months of poor performance.
The rise in regulated fares is aligned to the RPI inflation rate. The RMT union claims a different rate – the consumer price index (CPI) – should be used instead.
UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said he would look at adopting this.
Mr Matheson said: ‘The Scottish Government recognises that fares increases are unwelcome. That is why we have taken action to minimise these.
‘This means in Scotland average fares increases are lower than England and Wales, where the UK Government applies an increase equivalent to RPI to all regulated fares.’