"Channel 4 News said that instead of annual rises being pegged at one per cent above inflation, Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, could allow rises of three or even five per cent above inflation, leading to fare increases of up to 40 per cent over four years.
He has told train operating companies that the formula by which regulated rail fares are set may have to be changed, effectively cutting their subsidy from the public purse.
About half of fares are regulated, including popular commuter routes, season tickets and long-distance off-peak journeys – a total of about 600 million tickets a year.
They currently increase at the start of each year by the previous July's RPI inflation rate plus one per cent. With RPI at 4.8 per cent in July, that would already mean a 5.8 per cent hike in the cost of tickets from January.
Channel 4 News also suggested that typical commuter season tickets between Brighton and London could increase from £3,104 a year to £4,260 by 2015 and between Swindon and London from £6,640 to £9,130.
Any increased income arising from a change in the formula would go to Government coffers, rather than to rail companies.
Official sources declined to make any comment on the scale of any possible possible change to the formula, which would be announced in Chancellor George Osborne's Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday.
Mr Osborne asked the Department for Transport to prepare for cuts of anywhere between 25 per cent and 40 per cent to its annual budget of £15.9 billion.
Unlike the NHS and international aid, transport does not enjoy protection from cuts in the CSR and pressure on the DFT budget has been increased by political decisions to rein in reductions in spending on defence and schools.
A DfT spokesman said: "The scale of the financial crisis means that we will have to make some tough decisions in the spending review which concludes this autumn. We are not therefore in a position to determine next year's fare increase.
"It would be irresponsible, at a time when investment in the railway is under pressure, to rule anything out until the spending review is concluded."
A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: "We understand that these are tough times for many people. The level of regulated fares is the Government's decision and the additional money raised by any changes would go back to the Government.
"Money from train tickets pays for around half the cost of running the railways with the rest coming from the taxpayer.
"The Government is reviewing whether to shift the costs away from the taxpayer and more towards the passenger.
"We will have to wait and see what final decision is taken.""
Source: Rail fares 'to rise by up to 40 per cent' - Telegraph
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I reckon "cheap" off-peak tickets will be history soon, £120 standard return to London from Birmingham or more!
Just WTF are those fares so expensive - apparently subsidy is 50% of the cost of the tickets, so FFS, they should be like £240 standard and £500 first class for return peak time travel to London ffs, it cost only £30 one way to travel by Eurostar at much higher speed, much futher to another country ffs!
He has told train operating companies that the formula by which regulated rail fares are set may have to be changed, effectively cutting their subsidy from the public purse.
About half of fares are regulated, including popular commuter routes, season tickets and long-distance off-peak journeys – a total of about 600 million tickets a year.
They currently increase at the start of each year by the previous July's RPI inflation rate plus one per cent. With RPI at 4.8 per cent in July, that would already mean a 5.8 per cent hike in the cost of tickets from January.
Channel 4 News also suggested that typical commuter season tickets between Brighton and London could increase from £3,104 a year to £4,260 by 2015 and between Swindon and London from £6,640 to £9,130.
Any increased income arising from a change in the formula would go to Government coffers, rather than to rail companies.
Official sources declined to make any comment on the scale of any possible possible change to the formula, which would be announced in Chancellor George Osborne's Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday.
Mr Osborne asked the Department for Transport to prepare for cuts of anywhere between 25 per cent and 40 per cent to its annual budget of £15.9 billion.
Unlike the NHS and international aid, transport does not enjoy protection from cuts in the CSR and pressure on the DFT budget has been increased by political decisions to rein in reductions in spending on defence and schools.
A DfT spokesman said: "The scale of the financial crisis means that we will have to make some tough decisions in the spending review which concludes this autumn. We are not therefore in a position to determine next year's fare increase.
"It would be irresponsible, at a time when investment in the railway is under pressure, to rule anything out until the spending review is concluded."
A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: "We understand that these are tough times for many people. The level of regulated fares is the Government's decision and the additional money raised by any changes would go back to the Government.
"Money from train tickets pays for around half the cost of running the railways with the rest coming from the taxpayer.
"The Government is reviewing whether to shift the costs away from the taxpayer and more towards the passenger.
"We will have to wait and see what final decision is taken.""
Source: Rail fares 'to rise by up to 40 per cent' - Telegraph
------
I reckon "cheap" off-peak tickets will be history soon, £120 standard return to London from Birmingham or more!
Just WTF are those fares so expensive - apparently subsidy is 50% of the cost of the tickets, so FFS, they should be like £240 standard and £500 first class for return peak time travel to London ffs, it cost only £30 one way to travel by Eurostar at much higher speed, much futher to another country ffs!
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