TRAIN staff were joined by angry commuters in protests at over forty stations across the UK as the 3.4% hikes in rail fares came into force yesterday morning, with rail union RMT declaring that the only solution is the complete re-nationalisation of the entire rail network.
The massive hike in the cost of rail tickets represents the biggest increase in fares since 2013.
Many commuters have seen their season tickets go up by more than £100. Many families have been driven out of London because of spiralling rents, with the breadwinners forced to commute back into London on a daily basis to work.
This fare hike represents a pay cut for commuters, as they must travel to earn their wages. At one of the liveliest protests outside Kings Cross station in central London yesterday morning RMT leaders spoke out against privatisation.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash told News Line: ‘We have got one of the most expensive rail services in Europe. It is all down to privatisation. The answer is re-nationalisation, so the money goes to the benefit of the passengers and not the profits of the private companies.
‘The private companies are cutting costs to maximise profits, closing down ticket offices and taking guards off the train. We want to keep the guard on the train to protect passenger safety.
‘While the British passenger is being bled dry, the same private companies who are coining it in are axing safety-critical staff and slashing security on our trains and stations in the name of even fatter profits. It’s a national scandal that private profit comes before public safety on our rail network.’
