06.09.12
McLoughlin to examine rail fares structure
New transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has pledged to examine the structure rail operators use to set fares.
He said that there were “anomalies” which must be addressed, but added that there was no easy answer to rising fares, which were necessary to pay for upgrades on the railway.
McLoughlin spoke during an opposition day debate called by Labour on the subject of rail fares. Labour is calling for a cap on ticket prices of 1% above inflation for 2013 and 2014.
The planned rise for unregulated fares is 3% above inflation, which means train operators can raise prices by as much as 11% on certain services.
McLoughlin told MPs: “I think there are a number of anomalies as far as ticket fares are concerned. I see them on the train service that I use where you are paying a huge amount of money, over £170 to use one train, and then a train 20 minutes later is a lot cheaper.
“I think we have got to seriously try and address a number of these particular problems and to look at the whole way in which fares and the fare structures that are used by the rail industry are actually implemented by them.
“In certain areas consumers have very, very strong cases and we should look at that, and I will be looking at that.”
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