The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Protests over rise in train fares from Peterborough to London
Annual season tickets rise by more than £200
Labour Party members protested outside Peterborough Station yesterday (Wednesday, January 2) over a rise in train prices.
A 12 month standard class season ticket to use Great Northern and Thameslink services between Peterborough and London now costs commuters an eye-catching £6,748. That is an increase of £208, with each journey averaging £14.54.
A 12 month standard class season ticket for all trains between Peterborough and London has now risen from £7,752 to £8,000, an increase of £248.
Other ticket prices have also gone up, while across England train fares have increased by an average of 3.1 per cent.
Commuters in Peterborough suffered last year due to a bungled new rail timetable from Govia Thameslink Railway and Great Northern.
Labour East of England MEP Alex Mayer said: “Surely after the delays, cancellations and overcrowding on the railways last year the Government should not be allowing fares to increase faster than many people’s wages.”
Labour plans to renationalise the railways if elected. Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald said: “The rail fare increases are an affront to the people of Peterborough and everyone who has had to endure years of chaos on Britain’s railways – not least the Peterborough to London line and its sky high ticket prices.”
A discount railcard for 26 to 30-year-olds went on sale yesterday, while a new railcard for 16 to 17-year-olds will be available in September,
Mr Grayling told the BBC the Government had made a “record investment” in rail.
LNER, which operates the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and London, said it had introduced a return ticket for families to save them money. A spokesperson said: “We know that the price of a ticket is an important factor when someone is planning to travel and that is why we work hard to make rail travel good value for money.”