Rail season ticket price rises £3,400 under Tories

THE cost of a season ticket between Birmingham and London has shot up by more than £3,400 since the Conservatives came to power.

It’s the highest rail fare increase in the country.

Labour condemned rail price rises. Jim McMahon MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, said: “Rail-users will have to pay even more to use the services they rely on.

“This fare hike will make rail unaffordable for many and discourage people from getting back on to the network when lockdown restrictions ease in the coming months.”

An annual season ticket between Birmingham and London cost £8,028 in 2010, and is expected to cost £11,495 once price increases come into effect this year. That’s a rise of £3,467, or 43 per cent.

Rail passengers across England and Wales have been hit by above inflation fare rises of around 2.6 per cent this year alone, despite a collapse in demand for travel due to the Covid pandemic.

The figure represents the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation from July 2020, plus one percentage point.

Demand for rail travel has plummeted during the lockdowns of the past 12 months, with passenger numbers currently down 85 per cent on normal levels. And Network Rail boss Sir Peter Hendy said last week that the volume of journeys by commuters may only recover to 60 per cent of what it was before the outbreak, as some people shift to working from home permanently, and making more use of video-conferencing instead of meeting in person.

Fares usually become more expensive on the first working day of every year, but 2021’s rise was deferred due to the pandemic.

Bruce Williamson, of pressure group Railfuture, described the increase as “the usual annual punishment for rail passengers, just slightly delayed”.

He claimed the Government “should be encouraging the public to start using trains again” when lockdown restrictions ease.

“But instead they’re gradually pricing the railways out of existence,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense to kick the rail industry when it’s down.”

A Department for Transport spokeswoman noted that this is the lowest rise in four years “despite unprecedented taxpayer support for the rail industry”.

She went on: “By delaying the change in fares, passengers who needed to renew season tickets were able to get a better deal, and we will set our plans to offer cheaper, more flexible tickets for commuters in due course.”