‘SOUTHERN Rail is an example of privatisation gone rogue, backed by the Department for Transport. Public ownership of the railways is long overdue,’ NOR4NOR campaign group said yesterday.
Their renewed call for re-nationalisation of the rail was in response to the massive hike in train fares yesterday. Fares went up by an average of 2.3 per cent, the biggest since January 2014, when fares went up by 2.8 per cent.
Between 1995 and 2016, passengers have seen average fares increase by 23.5 per cent. However this is just an average figure. A season ticket to travel from Tame Bridge Parkway to Nuneaton is up from £1,948 to £2,788 an increase of £840 or a massive 43%!
Today passenger campaign groups are protesting outside rail stations in Norwich, Brighton and other stations around the country. It comes after the latest strike by RMT drivers working on Southern Rail, who took three further days of strike over the New Year, finishing yesterday. Their strike was absolutely rock solid and a joint ASLEF and RMT five-day strike is now planned beginning January 9th. The strike is over Southern’s attempts to remove the guard from the train, a move which passengers, guards and drivers all agree will make train travel dangerous.
‘Monday’s fare rises are another kick in the teeth for long-suffering rail passengers,’ Lianna Etkind, of the Campaign for Better Transport, said yesterday. Many experienced a less frequent and more overcrowded service last year,’ she added ‘and now they are required to pay more for the same this year. The whole fares system is completely unfair and it’s high time the government overhauled it.’ She stressed that people are now finding themselves ‘priced off the railways’.
The average season ticket now costs £2,788, which is £594 more than in 2010. The highest cash increase has been on Virgin Trains season tickets between Birmingham and London Euston which now cost more than £10,200, or £2,172 more than in 2010.
Meanwhile, commuters travelling from Brighton to London, a Southern Rail service, are now paying £980 more for their season ticket than in 2010. A survey has revealed that Southern Rail delays and cancellations are ‘causing health problems and threatening jobs’.
The survey has revealed the dramatic impact of months of disruption to Southern Railway services with passengers now facing ‘intolerable’ journeys. A survey of 1,000 passengers showed that delays, cancellations and overcrowding is causing health problems, forcing people to move house and even lose their jobs.
All of the passengers side with the train unions in blaming the company for the total chaos caused. The Association of British Commuters said its survey highlighted the extent of suffering as a result of the ‘utter breakdown’ of services.
A spokesman said: ‘An accurate understanding of the situation is far more nuanced than we are currently seeing portrayed by the company and politicians – which has become a further aggravation for commuters, many of whom were forced to leave their jobs or relocate their homes long before the strike action became an issue.
‘Thousands of people are now at breaking point, and the Association of British Commuters continues to advocate on their behalf – calling for immediate and transparent government intervention into this failed company as well as a fully independent public inquiry into the circumstances behind the collapse of Southern Rail.’
A passenger who commutes daily from Brighton to London said: ‘Quite simply, it has ruined my life. The stress and exhaustion from the constant disruption and uncertainty has had a dramatically negative effect on my work, my health and my relationships. Since Monday I am now separated from my family during the working week and paying a rent I cannot afford simply in order to stay in London to do my job.’
A commuter from Wivelsfield to London said: ‘The Southern Rail crisis has affected me profoundly. I am absolutely stunned by the levels of self-interest, profiteering, disregard for public safety and sheer immorality that the whole issue has revealed. I have no faith that DfT (Department for Transport) will apologise and improve things and believe that our essential rail system will collapse totally.
‘Abandoned attempts to get to work, disrupted work days, cancelled meeting up with friends, changed dentist, unable to visit family for caring purposes, cancelled sports club memberships as unable to get home in time, get up at 0445 every day to check live departures so short of sleep, stressed by the thought of even trying to catch a train.’
Another commuter from Brighton to London said: ‘Frequently the trains I board are overcrowded, messy and full of faults. I’ve had passengers shout and swear at me for daring to ask them to move down the carriage. I’ve helped fainters disembark because there’s been no conductor, and even if there was they’d have little chance of battling through the crowds. I’ve come home crying. I’ve come home angry.’
• See editorial page 6
