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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Railway Rip-off Britain alive and well charges AM
January 23, 2008 12:00 AM
We still pay more to travel by rail than anyone else in Europe; a survey carried out by the Liberal Democrats in Westminster has shown.
Just as in 2006, when the Lib Dems last did this research, British railways are officially the most expensive after research revealed that £10 will buy commuters an average of 27 miles, down from 55 miles in 2002. That is almost twice as much as the cost of travelling the same distance in France.
Commenting on the figures, t he Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black said "Even in the most expensive countries in Europe - Germany and Ireland - rail passengers do better than in Railway Rip-off Britain, getting 38 miles for their £10.00."
"At these prices, people travel from Swansea to Bristol, a distance of 85 miles, for £31 whereas in France the same journey would cost £17,. Bridgend to Bristol,, a distance of 60 miles, costs £22 whereas in France the same journey would cost £12. It is quite clear that Labour transport policy is failing, and rip -off Britain is alive and well on the railways. Is it really the intention of the Labour government to stand idly by while train travel becomes the preserve of the better-off?
"The rail companies defend these increases by saying that they need the additional revenue to 'invest in infrastructure'. Isn't that what their profits are for?
"Our rail fares are the most expensive in Europe and have continued to rise in real terms, while the cost of motoring is falling. Massive fare rises, like the ones we saw earlier this month, are pricing travellers off the railways. Labour regards spending on the roads as investment but spending on the railways as subsidy, just as their Tory fellow-travellers did."
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