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Press release 29th December 2019

Another decade of misery for rail passengers


Rail fares go up by an average of 2.7% on the 2nd January. “Welcome to another decade of misery for rail passengers” said Bruce Williamson from the campaign group Railfuture.  “The government shows no sign of ending its policy of squeezing passengers harder and harder, year after year.  With CPI inflation at only 2.1%, there’s no justification for yet another inflation-busting fare increase, particularly when the government has frozen fuel duty for motorists for nearly ten years now.  The government seems to be running scared of the motoring lobby but is happy to punish rail travellers.”

The Government uses the Retail Price Index (RPI) when calculating fare increases.  “This means that fares are outstripping people’s incomes. A £100 ticket in 2004 should only have gone up to £145 today. Instead it’s more than £180.”

“Part of the problem is the government’s inability to control costs in the rail industry, and the travelling public is literally paying the price for this. Travellers on South Western having been suffering through strike action in December, and the service on Northern has been exceptionally poor, so passengers will be feeling particularly aggrieved that they’re paying more for a service which has got worse.”

“How on earth is the government going to meet its climate commitments by pricing people off environmentally-friendly trains and onto our polluted and congested roads?"

Notes to editors:

These figures relate to England – the situation in Scotland and Wales is slightly different.

Railfuture is the UK's leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight.

Railfuture's website can be found at: www.railfuture.org.uk

Follow Railfuture on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Railfuture

For further information and comment please contact:

Bruce Williamson, media spokesman
Tel: 0117 927 2954 Mobile: 07759 557389
media at railfuture.org.uk