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Transport secretary Philip Hammond has said he wants to see the end to the era of above inflation rail fare increases.
In a statement to the House of Commons this afternoon Hammond said UK rail fares were already the highest in Europe "by some margin" even though the level of taxpayer subsidy was among the highest.
"The facts are clear, our railway costs too much, as a consequence fares are rising faster than inflation and taxpayer subsidy has reached unsustainable levels," he said.
Hammond was responding to the publication of a review of rail industry costs by Sir Roy McNulty which recommended a "rebalancing" of fares which could see off-peak prices rise while rush hour travel could be cheaper.
The transport secretary told MPs: "My department will accept Sir Roy's recommendation that it should look at a full review of fares policy."
Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said Labour would take account of the report's recommendations and told MPs public subsidy of the rail industry should be reduced but warned that minsters should be able to control fares.
Eagle also said the government needed to make sure discount fares were not only available in a "small window" in the middle of the day.
Article Comments
These conclusions bring a welcome focus on improving and increasing the vital rail infrastructure that links London with the rest of the UK. It raises the thorny question of increasing fares, which will be politically challenging, but given ten times more commuters arrive in London every morning than the UK's next largest city, and three quarters of all train journeys start or end in the capital, getting the options right for London will be key.
Baroness Jo Valentine, chief executive, London First
20th May 2011 at 10:53 am
We are well on our way to cutting the cost of running the rail network by over five billion pounds in our current funding period (2009-2014). We recognise there is more we can do to bring about fundamental change within our organisation to make it more efficient and customer focused, which will include a completely new kind of relationship with train operators and with suppliers.
David Higgins, chief executive, Network Rail
20th May 2011 at 10:50 am
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