Three return flights ‘cheaper than a rail trip’

IT IS now cheaper to buy three return flights to Barcelona than a train fare from Cardiff to London, according to a city MP.

Labour’s Jo Stevens criticised the high price of train travel during a Westminster debate about the state of rail services.

Ms Stevens, who represents Cardiff Central, raised the issue to illustrate a point about falling passenger numbers.

“Rail passenger usage is falling and is it any wonder?”, she said.

“My constituents in Cardiff Central are giving up on using the train when a standard return rail ticket to London for a morning meeting costs £235.

“They could fly from our Welsh Labour Government Cardiff Airport to Barcelona and back three times and still have change for a taxi home.”

The criticism comes after a catalogue of concerns about rail services in recent years. As well as anger over the UK Government’s failure to extend electrification of the South Wales Mainline from Cardiff to Swansea, Arriva Trains Wales hit the headlines due to overcrowding on its Valley Line services.

Politicians have also been vocal in their calls for Cardiff Central Railway Station to be upgraded to cope with future increases in passenger numbers.

Meanwhile, in Wednesday’s debate, MPs heard rail passengers hit by cancellations and delays across the UK network are “paying their own compensation”.

Shadow transport minister Rachael Maskell told ministers it was not true to suggest franchising firms foot the bill for compensation payments when Network Rail, which is publicly owned, often picks up the tab.

Ms Maskell, speaking at transport questions, blamed Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s “timetable chaos” for a surge in compensation payments.

She said: “Network Rail paying compensation means that this is coming from taxpayers, the public.

“So in effect, passengers will be funding their own compensation for delays and cancelled trains, for missing exams, for being sacked from their jobs or for lost business revenue – passengers paying their compensation – so how much compensation has the minister budgeted for for the Secretary of State’s decision to press ahead with this rail timetable chaos?

“Or is he instead going to cut more Network Rail projects to pay for it?”

Transport minister Jo Johnson did not respond directly to Ms Maskell’s point, telling MPs: “The compensation involves four weeks’ cash compensation for passengers on the most severely disrupted routes.”

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said the fall in numbers was a “sorry state of affairs”, adding: “It’s never been clearer that there’s something very seriously wrong with the railways on his watch, franchising failure, timetabling chaos and broken promises on investment and people shifting from rail to road.”

Mr Johnson said the “causes are complex” for falling numbers, adding: “The Government is conscious of the cost of fares to the travelling public and for that reason has ensured fares have risen at a lower rate than they did under the last Labour government.”