It was an unhappy New Year for commuters as they found the cost of season tickets had soared by as much as £2,000 in a decade – while punctuality has plunged to the lowest level in 13 years.
New Year's Eve celebrations for many travellers across the South of England were marred by yet another rail strike yesterday.
And millions returning to work tomorrow will be hit by a fresh round of inflation-busting fare hikes.
Commuters found the cost of season tickets had soared by as much as £2,000 in a decade. (Stock image of London Euston Station)
The latest increase of up to 3.2 per cent – described as a 'kick in the teeth' for workers – will add more than £100 to the price of many annual tickets.
But an audit by the Daily Mail has laid bare the crippling rise in the price of rail travel over the longer term, placing huge pressure on household budgets.
Of 44 season ticket fares published by the independent consumer group Transport Focus, 18 have risen in price by more than £1,000 since 2009.
Commuters travelling the 78-mile journey between Swindon and London will see the cost of their season ticket rise by £276 to £9,016 from tomorrow.
This means their annual fare is £2,168 more expensive than in 2009. The average commuter has seen the cost of their annual rail travel rise by almost £800 over the past decade.
The cost is eating further into disposable incomes. While the price of season tickets has jumped by 37 per cent over this period, wages have grown by just 22 per cent.
Fare rises have also comfortably outpaced the official CPI rate of inflation, which has gone up by 26.7 per cent.
The latest hike comes after a year plagued by timetable chaos, strike action, engineering works and the worst punctuality since 2005, when Tony Blair was still in power – with one in seven services delayed.
Yesterday, 730 out of 1,568 South Western Railway services were cancelled after the militant RMT union deliberately targeted New Year's Eve revellers.
Members staged a 24-hour walkout – the 30th day of strike action over the year.
The long-running protest is over the introduction of a fleet of Class 701 Bombardier trains which will enable drivers – rather than guards – to open and close train doors if the guard is sick or does not turn up for work.
A South Western Railway spokesman said: 'The RMT continues to play politics with their ongoing strike action, causing misery at a time when people want to be with friends and family to celebrate the New Year.
'If the union really cares about passengers it should call off these strikes and start helping to build a better railway.'
Many of those hit by the biggest fare rises are those affected by the strikes.
Darren Shirley, chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said: 'Rail passengers suffered atrocious service in 2018 and this latest fare rise will only add to their misery.
'The Government's decision to press ahead, despite a year of delays, cancellations and overcrowding, shows a total disregard for passengers and may leave many wondering what they are paying for.'
Wes Streeting, a Labour MP and member of the Treasury committee, added: 'Passengers will be forced to pay more for what has been a miserable service. It is a real kick in the teeth.'
The hike, set by the Government, is significantly above the official CPI measure of inflation, which was 2.5 per cent in July.
The Office of Rail and Road watchdog recently launched enforcement action against Network Rail for failing to deliver a 'punctual and reliable' service.
Robert Nisbet, of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the rail industry, said: 'We understand that nobody wants to pay more for their journey to work, but money from fares is underpinning record investment to build the better railway customers want and the country's economy needs.'
Passengers who hoped to see the back of the 'cattle truck' Pacer trains have been told they must wait a little longer.
Operator Northern promised to start phasing out its 100-strong diesel fleet, which hark back to the days of British Rail, before the New Year.
But it has not been able to scrap the Pacers because of delays to infrastructure upgrades, such as the electrification of the Manchester to Bolton route.
Link hienalouca.com Interesting to note Looking for an investor or sponsor for a project to grow dinosaurs and relict plants. Requires the sum of investments from 400000$ to 900000$. The exact amount can not say because there are many nuances. It will be necessary to build a small laboratory with certain parameters. To all interested persons please write on an email angocman@gmail.com . It is the scientific project and I do not know whether it is possible to earn on it. The probability of success of the project is approximately 60%. That will be very interesting.
https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/01/commuters-return-to-work-to-find-train-tickets-have-soared-by-2000-in-a-decade/
Main photo article It was an unhappy New Year for commuters as they found the cost of season tickets had soared by as much as £2,000 in a decade – while punctuality has plunged to the lowest level in 13 years.
New Year’s Eve celebrations for many travellers across the South of England were marred by yet ano...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/31/23/8000530-6543467-image-a-15_1546298543611.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий