Norwich rail station platform – © The Eye Snapper

 

Commuters and other regular rail users are now paying 27 per cent more for their train fares under the Tories, because of yet another year of rail fare hikes that come into force today.

The announcement that rail fares will rise again in January 2017 means that passengers in Norwich have been hit by a cost increase of 27 per cent since 2010.

An annual season ticket from Norwich to London has risen by £1,672 or 27 per cent since 2010.

Clive Lewis, Labour MP for Norwich South, has slammed the Tory government for hammering passengers and commuters. He said:

“Passengers in Norwich have been hit again and again by eye-watering rail fare rises. Fares have now rocketed by 27 per cent under the Tories, far outstripping any increase in most people’s pay packets.

“For many people here, travelling by train isn’t a luxury, it’s how they get to work every day. A season ticket to London now costs £1,672 more every year.

“Labour’s policy is to bring the railways into public ownership so they can be run for passengers not profit. That means fairer fares, investment in a 21st century railway and giving passengers a stronger voice.”

Local Labour activists were amongst many who made a country-wide protest at the sharp increase of rail fares under Tory-led Government.

Franchise holder Abellio is an arm of the Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwagen. Concerns have been expressed that high fares on UK Abellio trains are in effect subsidising the Dutch state railways. In 2015 Abellio won a contract to provide rail services for the Province of Limburg, but the contract was withdrawn after it was discovered that Abellio had received confidential information about  a competitor bidder, Veolia. In the UK Abellio has gained another major franchise with the takeover of Scotrail in 2015, while also under Tory rule they have been selected to run the London Midland franchise, in partnership with East Japan Railway and Mitsui to start in October 2017.