Posted 12th December 2012 | 4 Comments

ATOC denies TUC's claims over fares

TRAIN OPERATORS have hit back at union claims that a 'huge disparity' exists between rail fare increases and wage levels.

There were demonstrations at around 50 stations yesterday, in which protestors from the TUC's 'Action for Rail' campaign handed out 'Christmas cards' to passengers with an alleged message from operators reminding their customers that they could 'look forward to a 2013 packed full of cancelled trains, staff cuts and ticket office closures – all at a time when the train companies are making huge profits'.

The TUC has published research suggesting that between 2008 and 2012 average rail fares increased by 26.6 per cent, while average wages rose by 9.6 per cent over the same period.

It is also pointing out that ' fares are set to outpace wages and inflation again in 2013 after the Association of Train Operating Companies announced a 3.9 per cent increase in average prices last week, with some fares set to rise by as much as 10 per cent from January. By contrast, wages are forecast to rise by just 2.5 per cent according the Office for Budget Responsibility'.

Frances O’Grady is the TUC's general secretary designate, who also chairs of Action for Rail. She said: “Train fares have massively outstripped wages and inflation, even during the recession. Train operating companies seem to have completely ignored the fact that real-term incomes and living standards have fallen and have ploughed ahead with eye-watering price-hikes."

But ATOC has denied that the TUC's conclusions are correct. A spokesman said: “The TUC’s figure is misleading. The average price per journey actually paid by passengers over the last four years has gone up by 8.6 per cent, much less than the 18 per cent increase in inflation over the same period. The overall level of fares is determined by government policy."

The Government has recently backtracked on its plans to increase regulated fares by an average of RPI + 3 per cent next month, reducing the rise to RPI + 1 per cent for the second year running.

Reader Comments:

Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.

  • hugo rogers, Newbury

    ok rail fares have risen in the lst few years but so has every single piece of food, drink, fuel, and others. This IS a recession where PRICES should be falling not going UP UP UP and UP. This country and the government running it need to seriously do something about INFLATION, and VAT ....in a recession people are usualy less well off and cant afford much and i dont understand why everyone has to put the prices up. Therefore i suggest that there is no recession.

  • Tony Pearce, Reading UK

    I notice that our local return Bus fares in Reading between Tilehurst Station and Reading are slightly more than the cost of the equivalent rail journey. In the past it used to be that Rail was twice as expensive but only took 4 minutes compared to the 16 minutes by bus. According to 'Campaign for Better Transport' many bus services are being cancelled around the Country to save money even though many more people use buses to commute than by rail. That may turn out to be bad for rail as well.

  • Leslie burge, leicester

    It's about time the government scrapped altogether the RPI+1 per cent increase in rail fares. and some of these greedy TOCS ought to play fair also.
    Cross Country whom I have the misfortune to use charge eye watering fares for an abysmal service.And the afternoon peak hours price is outrageous.
    My local station is South Wigston with a two hourly service it's almost impossible to travel off peak.

  • Chris Neville-Smith, Durham, England

    Problem is, the TUC are blaming the wrong people. It's not the train operating companies who are responsible for price hikes, it's the government through cuts in subsidies and using profitable lines as cash cows. That is accounting for far bigger price hikes than any profit margins from Train Operating Companies.

    I have a lot of sympathy with people affecting by price hikes, but all the TUC seem interested in doing is attacking some politically convenient scapegoats, rather than the tackling the harder questions of public subsidy and investment. Contrary to what the TUC seem to think, there was no rail utopia before privatisation, and nationalisation alone is not going to create a rail utopia now. As a rail passenger, I don't like being used as a political football.