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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/aug/13/passengers-face-fare-rises-despite-waves-of-train-cancellations
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| Passengers face fare rises despite waves of train cancellations | Passengers face fare rises despite waves of train cancellations |
| (4 months later) | |
| Train passengers will learn of wage-busting fare increases this week, despite chaotic scenes at stations on the Northern network after a third successive wave of Sunday cancellations. | Train passengers will learn of wage-busting fare increases this week, despite chaotic scenes at stations on the Northern network after a third successive wave of Sunday cancellations. |
| The fare increases – expected to amount to 3.5% from next January – will add hundreds of pounds to the cost of many season tickets even though new figures from Which? reveal that punctuality and customer satisfaction with Britain’s railways has slumped. | The fare increases – expected to amount to 3.5% from next January – will add hundreds of pounds to the cost of many season tickets even though new figures from Which? reveal that punctuality and customer satisfaction with Britain’s railways has slumped. |
| Arriva, which operates the Northern franchise, scrapped 80 out of 1,500 trains yesterday, with Liverpool, Greater Manchester and Lancashire being the worst affected areas. | Arriva, which operates the Northern franchise, scrapped 80 out of 1,500 trains yesterday, with Liverpool, Greater Manchester and Lancashire being the worst affected areas. |
| Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor Lady Beverley Hughes branded the cancellations “chaotic and unacceptable”. | Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor Lady Beverley Hughes branded the cancellations “chaotic and unacceptable”. |
| Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said his opposite number Chris Grayling’s handling of the rail system was “beyond a joke”, and he repeated calls for the government to freeze fares charged by the worst-performing operators. | Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said his opposite number Chris Grayling’s handling of the rail system was “beyond a joke”, and he repeated calls for the government to freeze fares charged by the worst-performing operators. |
| Season ticket prices could rise by hundreds of pounds in 2019, depending on inflation figures published by the Office for National Statistics this Wednesday. | Season ticket prices could rise by hundreds of pounds in 2019, depending on inflation figures published by the Office for National Statistics this Wednesday. |
| Fare increases set to take effect in January are pegged to the retail prices index (RPI), a measure of inflation significantly higher than the consumer prices index (CPI), which more closely matches wages. | Fare increases set to take effect in January are pegged to the retail prices index (RPI), a measure of inflation significantly higher than the consumer prices index (CPI), which more closely matches wages. |
| If July’s RPI comes in close to the expected 3.5%, passengers would face hefty rises, with a commuter from Cambridge into London stations such as King’s Cross seeing their annual season ticket jump by £173 to £5,125. | If July’s RPI comes in close to the expected 3.5%, passengers would face hefty rises, with a commuter from Cambridge into London stations such as King’s Cross seeing their annual season ticket jump by £173 to £5,125. |
| The fare increases are likely to be greeted with anger by passengers, with a new survey by consumer group Which? revealing increasing exasperation with train reliability. | The fare increases are likely to be greeted with anger by passengers, with a new survey by consumer group Which? revealing increasing exasperation with train reliability. |
| Which? found that the level of commuter satisfaction with Britain’s railways has slumped over the past decade, falling from 72% in 2008 to 62% today. | Which? found that the level of commuter satisfaction with Britain’s railways has slumped over the past decade, falling from 72% in 2008 to 62% today. |
| Confidence in train companies has also plunged, with just 23% of passengers saying they trust rail operators, putting the industry second only to car dealers when it comes to consumers’ mistrust. | Confidence in train companies has also plunged, with just 23% of passengers saying they trust rail operators, putting the industry second only to car dealers when it comes to consumers’ mistrust. |
| Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive at Which?, said the survey’s results lent weight to calls for rail operators to be forced to refund passengers automatically when they fail to deliver services. | Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive at Which?, said the survey’s results lent weight to calls for rail operators to be forced to refund passengers automatically when they fail to deliver services. |
| “If the rail system is to have any hope of recovering passengers’ trust the government must step in to ensure they are automatically compensated for delays and cancellations,” he said. | “If the rail system is to have any hope of recovering passengers’ trust the government must step in to ensure they are automatically compensated for delays and cancellations,” he said. |
| Hundreds of train cancellations blamed on World Cup final | |
| But frustration with train operators looks set to continue in the wake of a third successive wave of cancellations to hit Northern, operated by Arriva, a division of German state-owned rail giant Deutsche Bahn. | But frustration with train operators looks set to continue in the wake of a third successive wave of cancellations to hit Northern, operated by Arriva, a division of German state-owned rail giant Deutsche Bahn. |
| The company blamed the weekend disruption on the difficulty of rescheduling train crew at short notice amid engineering works. | The company blamed the weekend disruption on the difficulty of rescheduling train crew at short notice amid engineering works. |
| The network is also facing the prospect of further industrial action by the RMT trade union in a dispute over the planned abolition of train guards, with strikes called later this month and in early September. | The network is also facing the prospect of further industrial action by the RMT trade union in a dispute over the planned abolition of train guards, with strikes called later this month and in early September. |
| Britain’s largest rail trade union repeated calls for Arriva to be stripped of the franchise on Sunday, with general secretary Mick Cash demanding the company be “kicked off the tracks”. | Britain’s largest rail trade union repeated calls for Arriva to be stripped of the franchise on Sunday, with general secretary Mick Cash demanding the company be “kicked off the tracks”. |
| “Yet again today services on Arriva Rail North have been reduced to chaos as this basket case franchise lurches from crisis to crisis,” he said. | “Yet again today services on Arriva Rail North have been reduced to chaos as this basket case franchise lurches from crisis to crisis,” he said. |
| “It is outrageous for Northern Rail once again to try and lump the blame for the crew shortages that have led to widespread cancellations today on their workforce. | “It is outrageous for Northern Rail once again to try and lump the blame for the crew shortages that have led to widespread cancellations today on their workforce. |
| “It is a scam to try and cover up the fact that they simply don’t hire enough workers to fill their rosters and want to run services on the cheap to pump up their profits.” | “It is a scam to try and cover up the fact that they simply don’t hire enough workers to fill their rosters and want to run services on the cheap to pump up their profits.” |
| Cash lashed out at Northern, which has previously blamed disruption on staff “making themselves unavailable”. | Cash lashed out at Northern, which has previously blamed disruption on staff “making themselves unavailable”. |
| “Our members are rightly angry at the suggestion that the service chaos on successive Sundays is somehow down to them and not the company which has repeatedly shown itself as unfit to run a railway.” | “Our members are rightly angry at the suggestion that the service chaos on successive Sundays is somehow down to them and not the company which has repeatedly shown itself as unfit to run a railway.” |
| A spokesman for Northern said: “We are sorry that our customers continue to experience some disruption to their weekend services. We are advising anyone thinking of travelling on Sunday on these routes to plan their journey carefully.” | A spokesman for Northern said: “We are sorry that our customers continue to experience some disruption to their weekend services. We are advising anyone thinking of travelling on Sunday on these routes to plan their journey carefully.” |
| The latest timetabling fiasco to hit Britain’s railway network comes less than two months after the boss of GTR, the company behind London’s Thameslink service, was forced to quit following a flurry of cancellations and delays over its network. | The latest timetabling fiasco to hit Britain’s railway network comes less than two months after the boss of GTR, the company behind London’s Thameslink service, was forced to quit following a flurry of cancellations and delays over its network. |
| Bim Afolami, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, submitted a private members’ bill earlier this year calling for automatic compensation in the wake of the Thameslink fiasco. The proposal has cross-party support. | Bim Afolami, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, submitted a private members’ bill earlier this year calling for automatic compensation in the wake of the Thameslink fiasco. The proposal has cross-party support. |
| Rail passengers should get automatic compensation for delays, says Which? | |
| McDonald said: “The public has lost all faith and trust in the way our railways are being run but the transport secretary remains in denial. | McDonald said: “The public has lost all faith and trust in the way our railways are being run but the transport secretary remains in denial. |
| “Labour is calling on the government to freeze rail fares on the routes most severely affected by the timetable changes – Govia Thameslink, Arriva Rail North and First TransPennine Express – as a small gesture of goodwill towards those passengers who have suffered and continue to suffer the worst of the timetabling chaos.” | “Labour is calling on the government to freeze rail fares on the routes most severely affected by the timetable changes – Govia Thameslink, Arriva Rail North and First TransPennine Express – as a small gesture of goodwill towards those passengers who have suffered and continue to suffer the worst of the timetabling chaos.” |
| A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The disruption that passengers in the north have experienced is unacceptable and it is vital that services continue to improve and passengers are compensated fully. | A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The disruption that passengers in the north have experienced is unacceptable and it is vital that services continue to improve and passengers are compensated fully. |
| “As joint managers of Northern, we continue to work closely with Transport for the North to improve services for passengers, including further timetable adjustments to improve reliability, to reduce disruption for passengers and to ensure they see the benefits of our long-term investment.” | “As joint managers of Northern, we continue to work closely with Transport for the North to improve services for passengers, including further timetable adjustments to improve reliability, to reduce disruption for passengers and to ensure they see the benefits of our long-term investment.” |
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