Inflation, as measured by the Retail Price Index, is going up.
That means most rail fares are due to rise again this January.
But calls to re-nationalise the railways should be
rebuffed. Significantly lower fares could only be delivered
by increasing taxpayer support, which would disproportionately
benefit high earners: the top fifth of households travel three
times as far by rail than those in the bottom 20 per cent. It
would be deeply unfair for poorer taxpayers - who rarely travel
by rail - to subsidise wealthier commuters' train journeys.
Commenting on the latest inflation figures, Duncan
Simpson, research director of the TaxPayers' Alliance,
said:
“Commuters across the UK will be rightly fuming that their
cost of living is going up again. But anger should be directed at
the real culprits, Network Rail.
“The already nationalised part of the railways is responsible
for almost two thirds of delays on the network, so they rightly
deserve the blame for inflicting misery on millions. Yet
passenger numbers have more than doubled and taxpayer support has
declined since the end of the nationalised British Rail. So the
interest in using railways is in spite of, not because of, the
state.
“The current franchise system is
outdated, so the priority of the new transport secretary should
be greater use of open-access operators to ensure real choice for
consumers and to limit to the burden on taxpayers.”
