Rail: nationalise now

As services dangerously deteriorate, rail fares have continued to rise, outstripping wages by more than double since 2010, a new analysis has found.

As it was announced today (August 16) that regulated rail fares will go up by a further 1.9 per cent next year, the Action for Rail campaign group, formed by the TUC, Unite and other rail unions, has found that over the last six years, fares have gone up by an astonishing 25 per cent, while average weekly earnings have risen by only 12 per cent.

The latest rise in regulated fares is pegged to July’s Retail Price Index (RPI), which today rose from 1.6 per cent in June to 1.9 per cent a month later.

This means, that, for example, a Leeds to London annual season ticket could go up by nearly ÂŁ260 each year, while a Glasgow to Manchester annual ticket could rise by ÂŁ220.

Last year, then-prime minister David Cameron pledged that his Tory government would ‘freeze’ regulated rail fares for the next five years. But what a freeze means in practice is that it will still rise, but only in line with inflation.

Sleight of hand

It’s a deceptive sleight of hand because in this case, the measure of inflation used is RPI, which as Action for Rail points out, is a much a higher measure than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and means that fare rises can still outpace wages and exponentially add to people’s living costs.

Many don’t realise also that freezing fares at RPI simply means freezing a weighted average of all fares. Some commuters will experience a fare increase on some routes by up to as much as 5 per cent.

What’s more, this so-called ‘freeze’ on regulated fares, which cover season tickets and off-peak InterCity tickets, will do little to protect commuters from unregulated fares, which comprise more than half of all rail fares and are governed by private train operating companies, who can charge commuters however much they like.

In fact, these companies will often resort to what’s called ‘stealth increases’ on unregulated fares, by using tactics such as extending peak times, to compensate for income they lose from regulated fares.

This wholesale robbery has taken hostage commuters who rely on Britain’s railways to get to work, as they spend an ever-larger share of their earnings on rail transport. An Action for Rail analysis from last year has shown that UK workers are, in this respect, unique among their European counterparts.

The study showed that, for example, a UK worker on an average salary last year spent 17 per cent of their monthly wages on a ÂŁ391 monthly season ticket from Brighton to London, while a similar worker in Germany taking a similar route spent only 9 per cent of her monthly wages and a worker in Italy spent only 6 per cent.

The news of the rise in fares comes as Action for Rail shines a light on the fact that more and more cash from train operator profits is going to line the pockets of shareholders – in the last year alone, dividends paid to shareholders skyrocketed by 21 per cent to £222m.

Worsening service

And as commuters face ever-higher fares, they’re slammed with a worsening service that’s spiralling out of control – just ask Southern commuters who were abruptly faced last month with a 15 per cent reduction in service, amounting to 340 trains cancelled daily, after the train operator woeful mismanaged the service and staffing levels.

This sudden imposition of a new, drastically reduced timetable left many commuters completely stranded, while others faced hours-long delays.

Not only has this sort of mismanagement inconvenienced hundreds of thousands of commuters, it’s led to dangerous overcrowding which has become a chronic problem.

Govia Thameslink, which owns Southern, operates the 7 am Brighton to Bedford service which tops the list of the most overcrowded train services in the UK.

Last Autumn it was reported that this service was 549 people over capacity, which amounts to nearly 130 per cent over the limit.

Despite a service that’s now in total disarray, Govia Thameslink still maintains the franchise, even as unions, MPs, and the general public have called for it to be stripped and taken back into public hands.

Action for Rail estimates that rail fares could drop by 10 per cent by 2017 and services would be drastically improved if routes coming up for re-tender were run by the public sector. It would be a boon to the taxpayer as well, saving up to ÂŁ1.5bn.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady argued that as things stand now, “rail passengers are paying more and getting even less.”

“Fares go up while trains remain overcrowded, stations are unstaffed, and rail companies cut the guards who ensure journeys run smoothly and safely,” she said.

“Enough is enough. It’s time for rail services to be publicly owned, saving money for passengers and taxpayers alike. Instead of increasing fares and cutting staff, we should be building an accessible, reliable train service that Britain can be proud of.”

Unite national officer for the rail industry Tony Murphy agreed.

“Supporters of privatisation have long-promised a European-style rail system, which is more reliable and modern,” he said.

“This promise has proven to be a mirage and commuters are paying for it, despite the fact that many have not received a decent pay rise in years.

“Commuters have been conned,” Murphy added. “The best solution is to take railways back into public ownership for the benefit of all, rather than the publicly-subsidised shareholders of rail companies.”