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Gloucestershire Business News

Rail fares to rise by 3.1% in New Year

There's more misery on the cards for rail commuters as they will have to pay an average of 3.1% more for rail tickets from January 2.

The rise has been announced by industry body the Rail Delivery Group, following a year of disruption on some lines.

There had been calls for a price freeze following the chaos caused by the introduction of new timetables back in May.

The rise, which is lower than the 3.4% average rise for fares in 2018, means an increase of about £320 for a Cheltenham to London annual season ticket while an early morning weekday return from Cheltenham to Paddington would increase from £86 to £88.66.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said today: "Many passengers, still reeling from summer timetable chaos and frustrated by 'autumn' disruption, won't believe fares are going up again!

"Passengers now pour over £10 billion a year into the rail industry alongside significant government investment, so the rail industry cannot be short of funding. When will this translate into a more reliable railway and better value for money for passengers?

"It's also time for a fairer, clearer fares formula based on a calculation that uses the Consumer Prices Index, rather than the discredited Retail Price Index."

The BBC quoted Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald as claiming the increase showed "a government and rail industry out of touch with passenger concerns".

Unions also took aim at the price hikes, with RMT general secretary Mick Cash calling them "another kick in the teeth for passengers on Britain's rip-off privatised railways".

He said UK passengers would pay the highest fares in Europe which was "nothing short of a disgrace", reported the BBC.

Rail Delivery Group chief executive Paul Plummer admitted that no one wanted to pay more to travel, "especially those who experienced significant disruption earlier this year".

He said money from fares was underpinning the improvements to the railway that passengers wanted and which ultimately help boost the wider economy.

The RDG said train companies will introduce 7,000 new carriages, supporting 6,400 extra services a week by 2021, meaning more seats on more reliable, comfortable and frequent trains.

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