The transport secretary has been accused of diversionary tactics after the latest annual fare rise provoked controversy over the state of the railways.
On Thursday (2 January) rail fares rose by an average of 2.7%, which is significantly higher than the widely used CPI inflation measure (2.1% in July 2019).
Bruce Williamson of campaign group Railfuture said: ‘Welcome to another decade of misery for rail passengers. The Government shows no sign of ending its policy of squeezing passengers harder and harder, year after year. With CPI inflation at only 2.1%, there’s no justification for yet another inflation-busting fare increase, particularly when the Government has frozen fuel duty for motorists for nearly ten years now.
‘The Government seems to be running scared of the motoring lobby but is happy to punish rail travellers.’
David Sidebottom, director at watchdog Transport Focus, said: ‘We speak to thousands of passengers each year and we know that less than half feel they get value for money. After a year of pretty poor performance in some areas passengers just want a consistent day-to-day service they can rely on and a better chance of getting a seat.
‘Transport Focus has long called for a fares system that is simple to use, easy to understand and is flexible enough to cater to how people work and travel today. As fares rise passengers must make their voice heard and call on operators to deliver a better service.’
Transport secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC that he would take action to bring to an end a situation where Northern rail is failing to run a significant number of trains on time.
He stated that he intends to remove the franchise from Northern but added that this could involve giving the firm a new short-term contract, a move he first announced in October.
Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, said: ‘Grant Shapps is big on talk about Northern rail this morning but short on detail and this has all the hallmarks of a dead cat being slung on the table to distract from the fare rise scandal.
‘If Grant Shapps was serious he would set out a timetable for removing the Northern Rail franchise from Arriva and their replacement with the public sector operator.’
Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said: ‘Today’s announcement from the transport secretary that he is belatedly going to take some action will be welcomed by passengers – however it is still unclear what this means in practice.
‘This is not good enough. Passengers and staff need clarity, so the Secretary of State should urgently explain his statement and set out a clear plan as to how he will bring back stability to our railways.’
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