Rail ticket costs to rise 3.1 per cent
Passengers were feeling the full pain of higher rail fares today, with annual season tickets rising by an average of 3.1 per cent.
A recent policy decision by the Government has limited the 2014 increase, but campaign groups have all pointed out that fares are rising far faster than wages.
The 3.1 per cent rise is for regulated fares which include season tickets. The increase on unregulated fares, typically off-peak leisure tickets, is not capped.
Some rail fares will rise less than the 3.1 per cent average. In Shropshire, a season ticket between Shrewsbury and Chester went up by more than £100 last year – more than a 5.3 per cent increase – but this year will see an increase of £52, a 2.4 per cent increase.
Season tickets from Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street or London will rise by £64 – 3.1 per cent – after a 4.2 per cent hike last year. Meanwhile, a season ticket from Ludlow to Hereford rose 5.3 per cent in January 2013 but is going up only two per cent today.
The Department for Transport said the Government understood concerns passengers had about costs, which was why fares had been limited to the rate of inflation.
