FEATURED ARTICLE
The facts about rail fares
Rail fare rises are one of the most emotive transport issues for passengers and customers rightly want to feel they get value for money. The spotlight in the media regularly falls on train companies as campaigners call for “fairer fares”. But what are the facts and what is the real story behind the headlines?
The reality is that rail fare rises are determined largely by government policy and funding for the rail network can come from only two sources - the taxpayer or the passenger.
For many years, government policy has been that a bigger share must come from people who use the train as it has sought to sustain investment in better stations, new trains and faster services. That is the policy of the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition and was also the case under the previous Labour administration... READ ON