Anger of commuters over New Year fare rises amid maintenance work disruption

Commuters returning from their Christmas break may have to pay as much as £5,000 for a season ticket.
Back to work: Commuters make their way to offices in central London this morning Picture: Jeremy Selwyn

Rail commuters returning to work today told of their anger at being hit with New Year’s fare rises as many were braced for months of disruption due to engineering works.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters using Thameslink and Southeastern services were facing longer journeys and even more crowded trains as services will not stop at London Bridge while platforms are rebuilt.

The misery comes as passengers returning from the Christmas break were hit with a 2.5 per cent rise in the price of season tickets with many breaking the £5,000 mark in the cost of a year’s travel into the capital.

After a 16-day partial closure of London Bridge over Christmas to build new platforms, Southern services in and out at the station resumed today.

But from today most Thameslink services will not operate to or from London Bridge until January 2018. From 12 January 2015 to August 2016, all Southeastern services to and from Charing Cross will not call at London Bridge.

Commuters at King's Cross station this morning Picture: Jeremy Selwyn

At London Bridge, Ali Salam, 34, a software designer, from Crowborough in East Sussex, said: “It’s pretty extortionate and quite frankly with all the disruptions and delays at this station it’s pretty terrible. At the moment it does not feel value for money as there’s not enough frequency at too high a cost.”

Chris Collins, 34, a financial advisor from Battle in Kent, said: “The fare rises are terrible and I always try and get my ticket in the last days of December to avoid it.

"When I first started commuting I paid £3,600 and now it’s up to almost £4,700 so it’s jumped up quite a bit and the service is still rubbish and will be overcrowded for the next three years.

“I have also been restricted as to what trains I can get as the Charing Cross trains don’t stop at London Bridge any more so I can only get the Cannon Street ones. But what can you do apart from grin and bear it.”

Commuters complained this morning that they weren't getting value for money

James Dallow, 43, who works in the commercial arm of a newspaper group, from East Dulwich, said: “The fare rises make me consider alternative ways of getting to work like the bus or cycling - but there are the safety concerns there. I was actually thinking about it this morning when I saw the difference in price.

"I have been living in East Dulwich for 10 years and the price has gone up significantly in that time, but it’s still the easiest way to get to work so what can you do?”

The cost of Tube and bus travel was also hiked by 2.5 per cent from 2 January, although part-time workers are set to benefit from a lowering of the daily cap on Oyster pay as you go fares.

Sadiq Khan, Labour’s Shadow London Minister, said fares had risen by 40 per cent under Boris Johnson and coupled with housing costs “Londoners have been pushed into poverty”.

He said Londoners paid £219.70 for a zones 1-6 travelcard compared to the equivalent in Berlin of £151, Tokyo (£93), Paris (£90) and New York (£72). However Transport for London dismissed the comparison as some cities received far greater subsidies on travel.

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