The price of average train fares in the UK rose on January 2 by 3.4 percent while seasonal tickets between cities rose by 3.6 percent amid widespread public opposition.
According the Rail Delivery Group which represents the privatized rail-system, the largest proportion of train-ticket fares is invested in rail upgrades and expansions of the infrastructure system.
97p of every pound paid in fares goes back into running and improving the railway, with new trains, better services and improved stations. Discover what is happening in your area https://t.co/rNCHKP4bbz #investingtoimprove pic.twitter.com/vuYDexcnTO
— Rail Delivery Group (@RailDeliveryGrp) 5 December 2017
The claims have done little to hose down the public outcry over the costs rail-transport in the UK, which is now six times as expensive as in other Western European countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands.
The organization Action For Rail which calls for the nation's railways to be re-nationalized claimed that many people living in and around were paying up to 14 percent of their yearly income just to meet the costs of commuting to and from work at the beginning of 2017.
Wow! So this means I alone invested £3500 into the rail network last year; Are my trains any more reliable? No. Are they any newer? No. More frequent? No. Any less crowded? No. Is DelayRepay any faster? No. Total rubbish — Britain’s rail is a disgrace compared to Europe.
— Ben (@ripoffcommute) 5 December 2017
It's still a barefaced lie.
— The Sparkster (@SparkyInTheUK) 5 December 2017
They must think we're stupid… And the fact they do is contemptuous.
Not fair on UK rail commuters to pay highest fares in Europe when all train companies are raking in huge profits paying their chief executives £600,000 pa plus
— William Mach (@imagine259) 2 January 2018
UK train fares are sky high due to corruption. The cost of maintaining the tracks is a complete rip-off. There's supposed to be competition but contractors run a cartel. Low productivity is the result. Needs to be better managed.
— 29sylt (@mr29sylt) 2 January 2018
We pay up to x5 as much on rail fares than other Europeans.@Manuel_TSSA: “UK passengers are forced to pay more to Holland, Germany, France & Italy all of whom currently own our train companies. Passengers' money made here is invested in subsidies there.”https://t.co/0f8eWo34tp pic.twitter.com/3xukfdaU7a
— TSSA (@TSSAunion) 2 January 2018
Mick Whelan, the Secretary-General of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) said in a press-release January 2 that, "It is absolutely unfair that the industry they subsidise creates transport poverty and hurts the communities and industries that they should be supporting."
"Passengers are paying the penalty fare for privatisation, a flawed and failing model that everyone in the rail industry can see doesn't work. Hundreds of millions of pounds are haemhorraging from our industry every year — money desperately needed to improve our infrastructure, to continue with electrification, and reduce passenger fares which are among the highest in the world."
Since Jeremy Corbyn became its leader in late 2015, the Labour Party's declared policy on rail transport has been to take the system back into public ownership as the operators' contracts expire.
