Northampton commuters blast railway fare rises
TRAIN users in Northampton have condemned the latest rail fare rises, after it emerged commuters in the county were now paying almost 10 times more than many European counterparts.
City workers who travel between Northampton and London have had their season ticket prices increased by almost seven per cent, rising from £4,448 to £4,756, one of the steepest increases in the country.
Research revealed today by the Campaign for Better Transport has shown that a similar journey in Rome costs Italian season ticket holders just £336.17, while commuters in Germany and France also pay a fraction of the cost of many UK rail fares.
Shaun Hope, from the Northampton Rail Users Group, said it was now no longer feasible for many people to regularly use the trains.
He said: “These increases have been planned for a while and I am not sure how long these rises will continue for, but for many people it is getting to the point where it is not economically feasible to use the trains to get to London.
“You would think it could not go on forever but then the trains are still busy so perhaps they can keep getting away with it.”
He said off-peak travellers were also being hit by changes to their tickets, which will mean they have to wait until after 7pm to travel.
Mr Hope said the changes were a further “hidden” price increase.
Last week, chair of the rail users group and Northampton South MP Brian Binley, described fare increases as “Alice in Wonderland economics”, saying the ticket rises would drive house hunters away from Northamptonshire.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “To anyone who commutes from Northampton to London and earns less than £30,000; take away tax and National Insurance, it means their rail fare will cost about 20 per cent of their entire income.”
CBT’s public transport campaigner, Sophie Allain, added: “We knew we had some of the most expensive rail fares in Europe, if not the world, but even we were shocked by how much more the UK ticket was in comparison to our European counterparts.
“When the cost of season tickets is so much higher than other European capitals, the Government’s fare rises are starting to affect the UK’s competitiveness.
“That’s why, if the Government is serious about promoting economic growth, it must also look at reducing planned fare rises in 2013 and 2014 as part of a policy to cut fares and make public transport truly affordable.”
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There are 5 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
town&out
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 12:04 AMIf you are wealthy enough to own a car, go on holidays abroad, or have season ticket to London then obviously you have limitless income, so politicians & big union bosses can profit from you. Perhaps they think some people are too wealthy & are dismayed that anyone could have a decent living AND be able to pay for their own perks. We can't have that now, can we.
Removed by moderator
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 11:25 PMWhy would you want to live in Northampton and go to work in London?
smitch
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 05:58 PMDespite the govenrment's much vaunted claim to have capped season ticket rises to 6.0% (instead of the proposed 8%) all of the season ticket prices between Northampton & London Euston have increased by 6.92% from January 2 2012. Yet another rip-off from London Midland. Add this to the unregulated parking charges whicha re just another fare increase by stealth.
lady muck
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 05:56 PMYou can't blame Bob. He is just doing his job. The more his members get paid, the more Bob gets paid. In a way, a weird kind of capitalism. Fares will only go down when people refuse to travel (although in another slant on capitalism, this may be the very action which causes the train operators to increase the fares to compensate for reduced income....which will in turn ....my head hurts).
mojo
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 04:41 PMWould the fare increases have anything to do with the latest wage demand by brother Bob Crow of the RMT union of 5.2% recently awarded to his members at Network Rail?
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