RAIL users will be hit by a 3.4 per cent train fare hike from Tuesday, January 2.
The rise, which is linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) and comes into force on January 2, will be the biggest since 2013.
The increase see rail season tickets from Droitwich to Birmingham New Street increase to £34.90 for a week, £134.10 for a month and £1,396 for an annual pass.
The Rail Delivery Group claimed, although a ‘significant’ rise, 97 per cent of fare income was reinvested in improving and running the railways.
Bromsgrove Rail User Group (BRUG) has been among those to criticise the hike.
Chairman Mike Ponsonby said: “The increase is another example of how rail users are being fleeced by these large operating companies which at the same time are receiving huge subsidies from Her Majesty’s Government.”
He added London Midland, about to hand over its franchise to West Midlands Railway, received £820million from the Government in 2008 to run services.
The Standard says…..
THE AVERAGE 3.4 per cent nationwide rail hike will be the biggest in four years and many services still leave a lot to be desired.
As commuters look forward to Christmas and new year each December, the annual rise must also always be in the back of their minds.
’97 per cent of fare income may go into improving railways’ (Rail Delivery Group) but hard-working people are seeing an ever-increasing percentage of their already burdened salary being eaten by travel costs.
It will get to the point where people will have to question whether it is worth taking jobs because of the cost of getting to them.
