Shropshire MP appeals for cap on rail ticket prices

The changes will come into force in January, following the announcement of the July inflation figures.

The rises are based on the previous July's rate of Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation plus one per cent.

For train travellers from Shropshire this will mean a £196 rise on a 12-month season ticket from Shrewsbury or Telford to London Euston with Arriva Trains Wales and London Midland – which already costs £5,600.

If they want to travel to London Euston, Marylebone or Paddington using an annual season ticket booked through National Rail to use on any service, they currently pay £10,424.

However, the 3.5 per cent rise will see that rocket to £10,788.84.

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Mr Wright, Labour MP for Telford, said: "This really is not good enough and it just shows the cost of living is rising for ordinary working people.

"If you look at the figures, fares in some cases have risen by 20 per cent since 2010 and what we need is a cap on fares and a reform of the rail market."

He stopped short of calling for a renationalisation of the railways, adding: "I think there is a case for capping fares and I think that we ought to be looking at a more clearly structured fare strategy across the country.

"If you want to buy a ticket to travel on the day it is extremely expensive. We should be trying to encourage rail travel and above inflation increases in fares clearly do not do that. Rail links are crucial to Telford so we need rail travel to be good value for money."

The rise is not yet rubber stamped and the Government could decide, as it did for January 2014, to keep the rate to RPI plus zero per cent.

Train companies also have a "flex" rule which allows them to increase some regulated fares by two per cent above the average as long the overall average remains at the RPI plus one per cent level.

And this means some fares could go up by 5.5 per cent in the new year.

The rise was condemned by Mr Wright's Labour colleague, shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh, who said: "David Cameron has failed to stand up for working people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis."

The Campaign for Better Transport said fares have gone up by more than 24 per cent since 2010, while wages had only risen by 6.9 per cent over the same period.

Rail Minister Claire Perry acknowledged that passengers had had to contend with "inflation-busting fare rises almost every year over the last decade" but insisted the Government was committed to "fair fares".

She said: "What we have got to do is make sure rail passengers, who could be forgiven for thinking 'What on earth am I getting for these rises I've seen over the last decade?', start to realise that they are paying fair fares for comfortable commuting."

David Sidebottom, director of rail customer watchdog Passenger Focus, said: "Many passengers will be concerned about the fare rise. This level of fare increase puts more pressure on the railways to ensure passengers get an excellent service for the money they are paying.

"We hope the Government will step in again as it did last year, to ensure that train fares in England do not rise above the rate of inflation."

Dismay over looming rise in rail fares:

The looming 3.5 per cent rise in rail fares was met with unanimous disapproval at Shrewsbury railway station.

Rail fares are tied at one per cent above the RPI inflation recorded in July – which the Office for National Statistics yesterday revealed was 2.5 per cent. However, rail firms have the freedom to increase fares by up to three per cent above inflation, so next year's rises could even be much higher.

Evan Edwards, from Telford, had travelled to Shrewsbury to attend a hospital appointment with his nine-week-old son Ethan. "The rise in the rail fares stinks," said the unemployed 44-year-old. "We have to come by train to the hospital and it is not good that the fares are going up. Benefits are not going up, but everything else is. These rises will hit us hard."

Louise Parker, a science technician from Shrewsbury, sees her family infrequently due to the price of a rail ticket. "I just can't afford to go that often," the 37-year-old said. "I wish I could see my family in Manchester more but, while the journey time is very good at just over 50 minutes, the price of the ticket is too much."

Jennifer Wallace, who was travelling to Aberystwyth, said she was amazed the rise had been sanctioned. The 67-year-old pensioner, from Shrewsbury, said: "I do not see why they should be allowed to go one per cent above the rate of inflation when my pension is frozen."

Student Joe Collins, from London, had been visiting friends in Shrewsbury. The 21-year-old said: "Everything else is going up, food, petrol, the general cost of living and now with rail fares too it is going to cost me a lot more money to get to work."

Meanwhile 42-year-old security guard Delvin Elliott, from Newtown, said the proposed rises are 'wrong'. He added: "The prices should be set and stay set. There should be special rates for the unemployed and those on a low wage but this increase is ridiculous and it is wrong."

Lisa McHendry, from Harlescott, Shrewsbury, said: "I try not to go anywhere on the train as I can't afford it. Everything has gone up and every little counts when you are a student."

Vivien Brown, 60, from Belle Vue, was waiting for her nephew to arrive rom Telford. She said: "There are no passes available at my age. I go by coach everywhere if I can. It is comfier, there is more space and you can get a seat. On the train, unless you are 4ft 6ins tall you are squashed. There are often no seats and the trains are dirty."