Star comment: Hike in rail charges is scandalous
Travelling around the roads and transport networks of the West Midlands is rarely a pleasurable experience.
Get in the car and you are highly likely to meet roadworks, diversions, blocked roads and huge tailbacks, regardless of what time of the day you are travelling.
In an ideal world the solution would be public transport, yet in many cases that cannot be relied upon either.
Allowing the train to take the strain, as the old saying goes, has become something of a joke for passengers who turn up at railway stations only to find their train cancelled.
Those who are fortunate enough to board a train are often forced to stand in cramped carriages without even the slightest hope of getting a seat.
With this in mind, it is absolutely scandalous that rail fares are set to rise by 3.6 per cent from January.
The steep rise is yet another blow for passengers who have long since given up hope of getting value for money when travelling on our railways.
There is absolutely no justification for the increase at a time when so many services are not up to the required standard.
Figures from last month revealed that more than one third of trains arrived later than scheduled, while for five operators more trains turned up late than on time.
The bottom line is that despite years of upheaval and so-called improvements, our railway network is not currently fit for purpose.
Of course, a new dawn is on the horizon, with a £1 billion rail revolution for the West Midlands promising extra services, and better trains and facilities.
The Government argues that the fare increases are justified by the work.
But what the majority of long-suffering passengers really want to see is fares that represent value for money.
The fact that the fare increase is calculated using the Retail Prices Index (RPI) figure is one bone of contention, considering the more widely used Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure is lower.
Regulated fares were meant to be the Government’s way of preventing rail firms from overcharging passengers.
Yet, since 1995, even allowing for inflation, fares have gone up by around a quarter.
It is time for a complete rethink on rail fares.
