ES Views Letter of the Day: Rail fare increases should be stopped

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Feel the pain: commuters in the capital face further increases in their rail fares

17 August 2017

We have come to expect the Government to allow yearly rail fare rises but that is no comfort to paying passengers, who have just found out their tickets will increase by 3.6 per cent in the new year.

So many commuters on London’s suburban rail services have had to deal with delays, cancellations and generally poor services. The rail operators are adding more insult by putting up fares at a

time when wages aren’t keeping pace with inflation.

The decision made by the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, to freeze fares under his control has brought some respite for commuters in the capital. We now need the Government to follow his lead and limit the rises companies are allowed to impose.

If it is not willing to do that then it should get on with devolving suburban services as it had promised to do before Transport Secretary Chris Grayling put the brakes on the idea.
Tom Copley, Labour’s London Assembly transport spokesperson

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