by Keith Richmond
ASLEF general secretary Keith Norman says it is “a scandal” that rail fares in Britain cost 50 per cent more than they do on the continent. “It is not enough for Andrew Adonis to say the only way to reduce fares is to raise taxes. The Government doesn’t say this when it doles out money to the banks so why should passengers be treated differently from the financial elite? The only difference I see is that passengers – unlike bankers – have done no wrong.”
Mr Norman believes the relatively high cost of rail travel puts the Government’s environment strategy at risk. “Passengers will turn away from the clean transport option of rail and return to their cars. It doesn’t need a Treasury boffin to deduce that high prices stop demand.”
The union fears the gap between British and continental rail fares will keep rising if the government continues to insist that passengers should bear 75 per cent of the burden of paying for the railways by 2014.
The Government wants to reduce its investment from £5 billion to £3 billion a year and expects fare payers to contribute £9 billion to the network – which will make fares even more expensive.
The Department for Transport said it would cost £500 million a year to bring fares into line with other European countries.
“Perhaps the Government should be talking to the rail companies about the profits they are making before deciding to bash the passenger”, said Mr Norman.
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Totally agree if the railways were cheaper them more people would use them less cars better CO2 levels.