Rise in rail fares attacked by MPs

Train bosses were branded as unpopular as the bankers in a stinging attack on their huge New Year fare hikes by a committee of MPs.

Virgin, which runs the flagship West Coast line from Manchester to London, was among the rail companies accused of unfairly penalising recession-hit passengers by the Commons Transport Committee.

The company increased unregulated fares by an average of 7% at the start of the year — nearly two-and-a-half times the rate the inflation — with some fares hiked by much more.
MPs demanded to know why the cost to passengers was soaring at a time when high street stores were slashing prices by 50% because of the slump.

One MP on the committee, Conservative Philip Hollobone, said: “After the bankers, you must be the most unpopular men in the country.

“Train operating companies are fleecing the public with huge price increases and often deteriorating travel conditions. How do you defend your unpopularity?”

Louise Ellman, the committee’s Labour chairman, said: “Some fares are going up by six or seven times the rate of inflation. Is anyone going to justify that.”

But Graham Leech, Virgin’s commercial director, insisted the average price paid to travel on the West Coast line was now lower than in January last year.

And he said the level of fares was justified because passengers now enjoyed a much better service, with 30% more trains since the recent upgrade.

Mr Leech told MPs:”We are very sensitive to customers’ ability to pay and take great account of that when we set our fares.”

The inquiry was launched as the TSSA transport union called on the Government to order a rail fares freeze during the recession, describing the fare hikes as a blatant insult to passengers during the bust.

Regulated fares can rise annually by 1% above inflation and unregulated fares by up to 2.4%.

Controversially, the July figure was used to make the calculation — when inflation was 5%.