Rail firms double prices to make up for peak fare cuts
Rail commuters face a record 143 per cent increase in the cost of travel as train companies sidestep government regulations aimed at keeping prices down.
Passengers using a travel card on the 8.16am Market Harborough to St Pancras service will see fares rise from £37.50 to £92, 143.5 per cent.
Travel card holders using the same train from Kettering will see fares rise this weekend from £36.50 to £82 (124.7 per cent). From Wellingborough the cost goes up from £35.50 to £78 (119.7 per cent).
Many off-peak fares on routes from the West to and from Paddington increase by up to 20 per cent from Sunday.
Industry sources warned that train companies, which make tens of millions of pounds' profits a year, are planning huge increases in unregulated fares, such as off-peak.
They have been forced to reduce peak ticket prices - which are regulated - from January because of plunging inflation.
Passengers face more hefty increases in off-peak fares in January.
The biggest increases are on East Midland Trains - owned by rail and coach giant Stagecoach, which made pre-tax profits of £196.4million for the last year.
East Midland has forbidden passengers from using the combined rail and Tube travel card on the 8.16am service. They will instead have to buy far more expensive tickets.
A spokeswoman said the increases were being made "to bring stations south of Leicester into line with other stations on our network".
Ashwin Kumar, director of national rail watchdog Passenger Focus, condemned the increases.
"This is yet another example of a back door fare increase by tinkering with ticket restrictions. Passengers will be aghast that a train company can double the cost of these fares in one fell swoop."
He called on the rail industry and the Government to "produce a fare system which is affordable and transparent" if it is to keep passengers using trains.
Gerry Doherty, leader of the TSSA transport union, said passengers were being "ripped off" because they were a captive market: "Rather than pass on the January drop in fares they actually want customers to fund it."
Peak fares are restricted to inflation plus one per cent. Inflation is based on the July figure when it fell to minus 1.4 per cent.
That means, in real terms, the operators will have to reduce most peak fares in January. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis firmly rejected their appeal to avoid this.
First Great Western, which runs trains into Paddington, said: "It is a challenge to balance the need to encourage customers to use our services while ensuring we generate enough income."
