RAIL FARES RISE AGONY FOR USERS

But shareholders get £4bn

RAIL passengers will see a 2.7% fare hike from today as campaigners warn commuters are facing “another decade of misery”.

Some long-distance commuters will face an annual rise of more than £100, despite fewer than two-thirds of trains being on time last year.

The increase comes as the Trades Union Congress blasted the fact that fares have gone up by 46% over the past 10 years, but the average weekly wage has only risen by 23% in that time.

Campaigners Railfuture say commuters face “another decade of misery” as fares are “outstripping people’s incomes”.

And in a double whammy the Rail, Maritime and Transport union also revealed yesterday that £4.4billion has been paid in dividends to shareholders by rail firms in the last decade.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, said it is “nothing short of a scandal” that the latest fare increase will be

“siphoned off in profits by overseas operators to subsidise their domestic operations”. He added: “Coming on the day that fares are hiked yet again, these figures are an absolute disgrace.”

But Robert Nisbet, of industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Rail companies have, for the third year in a row, held average fare increases below inflation while continuing to deliver investment in new trains and extra services that will improve journeys for customers.”

Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced a new fund for trialling flexible fares on certain routes in an initiative aimed at part-time workers.

It will be launched on Govia Thameslink Railway services first but plans to trial it across the country are in the pipeline.

He said: “The Government will improve the railway system to ensure the focus is always on putting passengers first.”