Rail companies raise ticket prices

Nov 16 2009 by Rebekah Oruye, Birmingham Post

“We call upon the industry to be clear about which fares are going up and to publish average increases for unregulated fares for each train operating company.”

Atoc said the 1.1 per cent overall increase was the lowest annual rise since rail privatisation in the mid 1990s.

Chief executive Michael Roberts said: “Not only is January’s average fare rise the lowest since privatisation, but it will come in well below the rate of inflation, meaning a real- terms cut in prices for many passengers.

“We should keep a sense of proportion about what passengers pay. How many people would guess that the average price paid for a single train journey comes in at around £5 and that the vast majority of people travel on some form of discounted travel?

“Record performance, better services and value-for-money fares have contributed to the highest number of passengers travelling by rail for 60 years.

“The January fare change means that rail travel continues to be good value for money when compared with cars and planes.”

Some rail companies plan to freeze ticket prices in a bid to keep commuters travelling by train through the recession.

Thomas Ableman, Chiltern Railways marketing director, said: “Like the whole industry we have succeeded in keeping the fare increase low, in fact we have gone one step further and completely frozen our London fares – giving our passengers fantastic value walk-up fares and at the same time continuing to deliver a reliable and punctual service.”