Rail fare rises under Tories are ‘truly staggering’ – Andy McDonald

Labour compared costs on over 180 routes between when the Conservatives came to power and the projected new prices that will be implemented this January 2018.

The average commuter will now be paying £2,888 for their season ticket, £694 more than in 2010.

New figures released today by Labour show:

• ·         From January, some commuters will be paying over £2,500 more to travel to work than they were in 2010.

• ·         The highest increase was on a Virgin Trains season ticket between Birmingham and London Euston which will have risen by £2,539 since 2010 and now costs £10,567.

• ·         The biggest percentage increase identified was between Thame Bridge Parkway near Walsall and Nuneaton, where the cost of an annual season ticket will have risen by 48 per cent since 2010. 

• ·         In Theresa May’s own constituency the cost of an annual season ticket from Maidenhead to London Paddington has risen by £736 since 2010.

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State Transport, commenting on today’s rail fare figures, said:

“The Tories’ failure on our railways means passengers have faced truly staggering fare rises, some of over £2,500, since 2010 with fares having increased twice as much as wages.

“Commuters have repeatedly been told that higher fares are necessary to fund investment, but promised investment has been cancelled and essential works have been delayed for years.

“Decisions taken by government Ministers are making rail travel unaffordable for the many in favour of huge profits for the few. By pegging regulated fares rises to the Retail Price Index, the Conservatives are leaving commuters facing year on year price hikes.

“The truth is that our fragmented, privatised railway drives up costs and leaves passengers paying more for less. The railways need serious reform that could be achieved if the Tories matched Labour’s manifesto policy to extend public ownership to passenger services, but instead Ministers are persisting with a failed model of privatisation that is punishing passengers.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• ·          The average 2017 annual season ticket reportedly costs £2,788. Regulated rail fares rose by 27.1% between 2010 and 2017, which means that the average season ticket in 2010 would have cost £2,194 – or £594 less than in 2017. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rail-fares-rise-by-up-to-a-fifth-as-overcrowding-and-delays-worsen-5n5mzrwhd; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/16/ministers-consider-exempting-long-suffering-commuters-from-rail/
• ·         The average commuter will be paying £2,888 for their season ticket in 2018, £694 more than in 2010.
• ·         At the same time living standards have stagnated, with real wages still lower than they were in 2008.

Top 5 highest rises in cash terms

Top 5 highest rises in percentage terms

Fare rises in Ministers’ constituencies

Season ticket data for 2010 has been taken from the Avantix Traveller (National Fares Manual) database. http://data.atoc.org/fares-data

2017 prices have been taken from the National Rail season ticket calculator. http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search

• ·         Regulated rail fares, which include season tickets and most other commuter tickets, will have risen by 32% on average between 2010 and 2018.

• ·         Regulated fares have risen by more than the average on some routes because Ministers decided to restore ‘flex,’ the train companies’ right to vary prices by up to 5 per cent, between 2011 and 2014. 
• ·         In September 2014 the Department for Transport introduced a new evening peak period in metropolitan areas on the Northern franchise, which raised the cost of travel by up to 162%. 

• ·         Analysis by the RMT shows that rail fares have increased at twice the speed of wages since 2010.

RMT, ‘Rail fares rising almost twice as fast as wages’, 13 August 2017

https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rail-fares-rising-almost-twice-as-fast-as-wages/