Rail Fares Rise 'Three Times Faster' Than Wages

Rail fares have risen almost three times faster than wages over the past five years, a new report says.

According to the study, season tickets and other regulated fares have gone up by 25% since 2010 – compared to a 9% increase in average pay.

The report was released by the Action for Rail campaign, which advocates for train services to be run by the public sector.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) comes ahead of the release of inflation figures, which are used to calculate fare rises from January 2016.

Action for Rail has organised a protest on Tuesday at stations in England and Scotland, including in London Waterloo station, to protest against fare rises.

"Through our high fares and taxes, passengers and taxpayers are subsidising company profits and shareholder dividends, while services are overcrowded and understaffed," the group said.

Next (Other OTC: NXGPF - news) year's fares are expected to see some of the lowest hikes in decades.

But the report argued that if train services were run by the public sector, savings could be made and passed on to passengers.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the fares "rocketed" over the past five years and left many commuters "seriously out of pocket".

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) said a government plan to cap annual rises in regulated fares does not go far enough.

"If ministers really want to help hard-pressed commuters, they need to return services to the public sector.

"This is a fair, more sustainable option and it would allow much bigger savings to be passed on to passengers. Introducing an arbitrary cap on fares is simply passing the bill on to taxpayers."

Rail minister Claire Perry acknowledged that "rail fares put a strain on family finances" but added: "That's why today, for fares we can control, we are putting an end to inflation-busting fare increases."

Meanwhile Ms Perry has also announced that passengers who experience rail delays of only a few minutes will be able to claim compensation direct to their bank or travel card.

The rail minister says she hopes the scheme will be adopted by all companies after being piloted by operator c2c.