Gravy train! Rail fat cats paid millions as fares soar

THE Mail can today reveal the millions paid to rail bosses who run Britain’s costly and overcrowded train services.

While passengers struggle with everrising fares, senior rail executives enjoyed generous salaries, bonuses and perks such as car allowances and private healthcare.

The highest paid boss even earned £2.2million despite operating the country’s most crowded commuter service, a Daily Mail investigation reveals.

The most successful train operator parent company made pre-tax profits of nearly £700million while the companies that run the transport network take billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies.

The stark contrast between ‘cattle class’ commuters and the ‘Fat Controllers’ follows the Christmas chaos in which thousands of passengers suffered horrendous journeys caused by over-running engineering works by Network Rail.

Yet hard-pressed commuters returning to work in the New Year will see the overall cost of their train fares rise by 2.2 per cent from Friday and up 2.5 per cent for season tickets – almost double the price of inflation, at only 1.3 per cent.

Many will see the price of an annual ticket top £5,000 for the first time, including passengers who travel from Ashford in Kent to London.

As of tomorrow a peak-rate standard day return from Glasgow to Edinburgh will rise from £22.50 to £23.10, with Glasgow to Perth up from £28.80 to £29.

A standard open return from Edinburgh to Dundee will increase to £33.20 from

‘Bosses get all the gain’

£32.40 and a return from Edinburgh to Perth will cost £33.20, up from £32.40.

Meanwhile, rail firms benefited from a total of £4.02billion in government subsidies in 2012-13, according to figures from the Office of Rail Regulation watchdog.

At the same time, the f i rms paid £204million in dividends to their parent companies, many of which are owned by foreign governments.

The top-paid rail manager last year was Stagecoach chief executive Martin Griffiths, 48, who received £2.23million, including £22,000 in lieu of a company car.

His company runs East Midland Trains and South West Trains, which operates Britain’s most crowded commuter service – the 7.32am Woking to Waterloo, on which travellers must now pay £3,052 for an annual season ticket.

First Group’s American chief executive Tim O’Toole, 59, received £1.99million last year even though a third of shareholders voted against his bumper pay packet – which included a £12,000 car allowance and £16,447 for US private medical insurance for himself and his wife.

A company spokesman said his bonus was the first he had taken since becoming chief executive in 2010.

David Brown, 54, was paid £1.96million last year to run Go-Ahead.

National Express Group chief executive Dean Finch, 48, received a package of more than £1.5million, including £20,000 for a car, plus health insurance. He and his wife live in a beauty spot i n rural Aberdeenshire, where they have a £1.6million listed home.

National Express, which runs C2C, said i t did not receive a subsidy – and said Mr Finch’s pay was down on the previous year.

Last night it also emerged that passengers have seen their pay massively outstripped by season ticket price rises. Average salaries have risen by 6.9 per cent since January 2010, but many fares have increased by 22 per cent or more, the Campaign for Better Transport said. Labour’s shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher said the franchising system is ‘not fit for purpose’ and called for an approach that ‘puts the public interest first’.

Manuel Cortes, of the TSSA rail union, added: ‘Passengers get all the pain while the bosses get all the gain.’

However, Scottish passengers have been promised better news when Dutch rail company Abellio takes over ScotRail routes in April.

Bosses have promised inter-city fares starting at only £5, a 23 per cent increase in carriages, improved journey times and refurbished high- speed trains for Edinburgh/ Glasgow and Aberdeen/Inverness. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators and Network Rail, said the overall increase in fares is the lowest in five years.

The Department for Transport admitted there were ‘concerns’ over the cost of rail travel. But it said increases to regulated fares – set by the Government – were once again frozen at 2.5 per cent.