"A first class return train ticket from Carlisle to London is now more expensive than a flight to Australia.
Regulated rail fares, which includes off peak and season tickets, increased by up to 2.5 per cent on January 2 in line with the Government’s long-term plan to sustain investment in the railways. It aims to do this by increasing the share paid for by passengers, and reducing the taxpayers’ contribution.
Although 2.5 per cent is the lowest increase in five years, councillors voiced concerns that while Cumbrians are paying more for their train tickets, they are not seeing the benefits of any investment.
Carlisle City Councillor Lee Sherriff, said: “It’s pretty extortionate. We’re not getting value for money as train users.
“I think they’re charging enough but they’re not putting the investment that they should back into it. These big companies are subsidised by the Government and you think, is this really about the passenger or is this about profit and shareholders?”
Keith Little, Cumbria County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, agreed saying: “I think the difficulty for passengers, certainly up in Cumbria and further north, is that they see very little improvement in their services for this annual increase and we haven’t seen any improvement over a number of years.”
If booking a month in advance on the Virgin Trains homepage, you could travel from Carlisle to London with a first class return ticket for £478, or you could pay for a single flight from Manchester to Melbourne for £471.
On the other hand if you visit www.farefinder.virgintrains.co.uk/prices, you can buy return standard class tickets for £33.
Campaigners from the TUC’s and rail union’s Action for Rail (AfR) argued that since 2010, fares have increased by 27 per cent. Research by the campaign groups found that passengers using privatised railways could be spending more than twice as much of their salary on rail travel than passengers on publicly-owned railways in France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Rail Union RMT said it would be “hitting the new year running” in their continuing fight over fares increases, the threat to jobs and services from the franchises on the Northern Rail and FTPE routes."
Fonte: News & Star