We spend SIX times more of our wages on rail fares than Italians

COMMUTERS in the UK spend up six times as much of their salaries on rail fares as European workers, a study has revealed.

Hard-pressed employees are spending 13 per cent of their wages on season tickets compared with just 2 per cent in Italy, research found.

Even in France, which is the closest to the UK for cost, commuters still spend nearly a third less on monthly passes than their counterparts in the UK, said the report.

The study, carried out by Action For Rail, a campaign group led by rail unions and the TUC, was published today to mark the return to work for many after Christmas. Rail fares also increased by an average of 1.1 per cent on Saturday.

The analysis compared the price of monthly season tickets in five countries with figures for annual median earnings for 2014.

They found that a commuter who travels from Chelmsford to London, a distance of 29 miles, would pay a massive £357.90 – more than 13 per cent of the average wage of £2,745.

By contrast, an Italian worker travelling from Ladispoli to Rome – also 29 miles – would pay £37 a month, over £300 less and just 2 per cent of their £1,929 salary.

A similar journey in Spain from Arenys de Mar to Barcelona would cost a mere £56 for a season ticket, while in Germany, commuting from Eberswalde to Berlin would cost £95.

In France, travelling from Etampes to Paris would cost £234, or 10 per cent of the average £2,422 wage.

Unsurprisingly, a survey of more than 1,700 adults by Action For Rail found that three out of five believed train services in the UK were poor value for money, with a similar number supporting public ownership.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: ‘It’s hardly surprising that UK passengers think rail travel is bad value for money. They are shelling out far more of their income on rail fares than their counterparts in Europe.

‘Years of failed privatisation have left us with exorbitant ticket prices, overcrowded trains and ageing infrastructure. Ministers need to wake up to this reality instead of allowing train companies to milk the system at taxpayers’ and commuters’ expense.’

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘Taking the railways back into public hands is a popular policy.

‘The vast majority of voters – Conservative included – are fed up with paying sky-high fares so the privatised train companies can take their slice.

‘Commuters travelling into London from Kent and Sussex know their £5,000 a year season tickets would be much cheaper under public ownership.’

‘Fed up with sky-high prices’