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Rail fares will rise by an average of 3.5% in January with some fares rising by up to 5.5%, adding hundreds of pounds to the cost of season tickets.
Rail fares will rise by an average of 3.5% in January, with some increasing by up to 5.5%, adding hundreds of pounds to the cost of commuters' season tickets.
Labour and transport campaigners stepped up their challenge to the railway system, with protests taking place at stations across the country as the extent of planned fare rises for 2015 is revealed.
Calls for the government to curb planned rises intensified as Labour said it would cap fares on every route and indicated it was considering an election pledge to cap increases at the rate of inflation.
Campaigners have demanded action to tackle above-inflation fare increases, pointing out that ticket prices are rising nearly four times faster than wages and average fares will have risen 25% under the coalition government.
Protests took place at stations across the country as campaigners pointed out that ticket prices have risen nearly four times as fast as wages. The 2015 rise will mean fares have gone up by a quarter since the coalition government took power.
Regulated train fares are pegged to July's retail price inflation figure of 2.5% and capped at RPI+1% – although train operators may raise fares on some routes by an extra 2%. The flex rule means some fares could rise by 5.5% – and could add more than £300 to the cost of annual season tickets on the most expensive commuter routes.
The increase will be more than double the 1.6% current rate of inflation as measured on the consumer price index. Train fares regulated by the government – including off-peak and season tickets – are pegged at 1% above July's retail prices index (RPI) figure, published on Tuesday, of 2.5%.
According to the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT), an annual season ticket for a commuter from Brighton to London would rise by £151 a year and by £159 a year for someone travelling from Cambridge to London. An annual season ticket between Liverpool and Manchester would rise by £101.
While fares are capped at an average of RPI+1%, train operators are allowed the flexibility to raise fares on some routes by an additional 2%. That "flex" rule means certain fares could rise by up to 5.5% – adding more than £300 to the cost of annual season tickets on the most expensive commutes.
Cumulatively, prices will have gone up almost 25% during the current parliament, while average wages have risen by 6.9%. The CBT says commuters are spending up to a fifth of their income on season tickets.
According to the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT), an annual season ticket for a commuter from Brighton to London would rise by £151 a year and by £159 a year from Cambridge to London. An annual season ticket between Liverpool and Manchester would rise by £101.
Commuters in Greater Manchester and parts of Yorkshire will also face further expense from next month when Northern Rail introduces evening peak periods when it will charge the highest fares.
Train fares will have risen almost 25% in the current parliament but average wages have risen just 6.9%, the CBT said.
CBT's Martin Abrams said: "With people's wages stagnating, and in some cases falling, the expense of taking the train to work has become a huge part of living costs. If the government doesn't put an end to above-inflation fare increases quickly, ordinary commuters will be priced off the train and could be forced into agonising decisions such as moving house or quitting their jobs."
Martin Abrams of CBT said: "By deliberately ramping up rail fares, the government is hitting the living standards of everyone who relies on the train to get to work."
Labour will seize on the fare rise to highlight what it terms "the choice" voters have on railways. Mary Creagh, the shadow transport secretary, used a speech to engineers in London to warn that prices could rise by a further 24% by 2018 under Tory plans.
The shadow transport secretary, Mary Creagh, said Labour was considering a pledge to limit fare rises to inflation – although the party is reluctant to make spending commitments before the election. Creagh warned fares could rise by a further 24% by 2018 under Tory plans. She said: "Once again David Cameron has failed hard-pressed commuters by allowing regulated rail fares to rise. Labour will act on rail fares to help tackle the cost-of-living crisis."
The shadow transport secretary, Mary Creagh, said that Labour was still considering a pledge to fully freeze fares at inflation before the next election – although the party is reluctant to make spending commitments now.
Creagh said Labour would cap annual fares on every route by abolishing the flex, and further ease the financial pressure on passengers by passing on savings from a planned package of railway reforms, which she described as the most radical since privatisation. These include allowing public sector companies to run lines and devolving more power to local authorities and passengers.
Creagh said: "David Cameron has failed to stand up for working people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. He's allowed train companies to sting passengers with inflation-busting fare rises of over 20%.
Last year the government cut the train operators' flexibility to an additional 2% rather than 5%. Fares rose above inflation under the flex rule on two of the 20 busiest commuter routes last year.
"We can't go on like this. The choice facing passengers is between fares rising another 24% by 2018 under the Tories, or a Labour government which will cap annual fares on every route and enact the biggest railway reforms since the Tories' botched privatisation, delivering a better deal for passengers and taxpayers."
George Osborne limited overall rises for 2014 to RPI rather than the planned RPI+1% – the first time in a decade that fares kept to inflation – and campaigners called on the chancellor to review fares again in this year's autumn statement.
Labour said it would abolish the flex – although much of the sting for commuters was taken out last year when George Osborne cut the train operators' flexibility to an additional 2% rather than 5%. The chancellor also limited overall rises for 2014 to RPI rather than RPI+1%. Fares rose above inflation under the flex rule on two of the 20 busiest commuter routes.
Transport minister Claire Perry said the coalition was delivering "a laser-like focus" on reducing the cost of living. She said there was record investment in the railways and 45% of tickets bought were cheaper advance fares: "People don't just rock up to the station and pay the maximum amount."
Labour has also pledged to create a legal right for passengers to be sold the cheapest available ticket for their journey, after rail regulators' warnings that passengers are often confused and pay over the odds.
Labour has pledged to create a legal right for passengers to be sold the cheapest available ticket. Rail regulators have previously warned that passengers often pay more than they should.
Creagh promised to "ease the pressure on farepayers by passing on the savings from our reforms". While stopping short of unions' calls for renationalisation, Labour is to allow public sector companies to bid to run rail lines, and will create a rail authority, a "single guiding mind to plan investment and services", bringing Network Rail together with a representative passenger rail organisation. The new body would contract routes, coordinate services and oversee stations, fares and ticketing.
The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, accused Labour of trying to rewrite its record. He said: "The last Labour government oversaw year after year of inflation-busting fare rises." McLoughlin said abolishing the flex would cost £100m.
Campaigners also condemned the government for choosing the higher RPI level on inflation as a peg for fares – July's CPI measure was just 1.6%.
The TUC and rail unions' Action for Rail campaign marked Tuesday's inflation figures with protests at more than 40 train stations across the country.
The TUC's general secretary, Frances O'Grady, said: "Today's figures also lay bare the government's hypocrisy in using different measures of inflation – one to hammer rail commuters and another to reduce the value of the state pension, child benefit and other social security support that families desperately need."
The TUC's general secretary, Frances O'Grady, said: "Today's figures also lay bare the government's hypocrisy in using different measures of inflation – one to hammer rail commuters and another to reduce the value of the state pension, child benefit and other social security support that families desperately need."
The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, accused Labour of trying to rewrite its record, and said abolishing the flex would cost £100m.
Mick Cash, RMT acting general secretary of the RMT rail union, said: "People will simply be priced off the railways while the greedy train operating companies are laughing all the way to the bank."
He said: "The last Labour government oversaw year after year of inflation-busting fare rises – a mammoth 11% in their last full year.
Michael Roberts, director general of industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: "Money from fares pays for more trains, better stations and faster services on what is already Europe's fastest growing, safest and most improved railway.
"We fully recognise there's more to do to bring down the cost of rail travel in Britain. But we need to do it responsibly and we can't spend money we don't have. What Labour are proposing today is an uncosted spending commitment that would mean over £100m more government borrowing."
"For a decade, successive governments have regulated commuter fares so as to increase the share of rail's costs paid by passengers rather than taxpayers."
Rail unions and the TUC's Action for Rail campaign marked Tuesday's inflation figures with protests at more than 40 train stations across the country. O'Grady said: "It's grim news for commuters that they face yet another year of fare hikes above inflation, while their wages keep dragging behind inflation. The cost to passengers of the failed privatisation of our railways keeps growing year on year. We've ended up with slower trains and higher fares than countries who have kept their trains in public hands."
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers' union, said privatisation had left "a fragmented system which is all about making a private profit at public expense".
Michael Roberts, director general of the Rail Delivery Group, comprising the companies that operate the railway, said: "Money from fares pays for more trains, better stations and faster services on what is already Europe's fastest growing, safest and most improved railway.
"Government decides the average change to regulated fares, including season tickets, each year. For a decade, successive governments have regulated commuter fares so as to increase the share of rail's costs paid by passengers rather than taxpayers.
"Our commitment is to enable future government fares decisions which work best for passengers, by continuing to get more out of every pound we spend and encouraging more train travel to pay for services and improvements."
A recent Passenger Focus survey showed only 45% of passengers believed their train service provided value for money.
What the increases could mean according to the Campaign for Better Transport:
