Papers unite to condemn rail fare rises and speculate about worse to come

Every major paper criticised proposed rail price rises of an average of 8% from January but some blamed Westminster for the ‘inflation busting’ increases, some blamed the train operators, and some blamed Brussels.

Rik Thomas

26 August 2011

A protest at Waterloo station led by the Campaign for Better Transport was timed to coincide with the publication of the inflation data that will be used to calculate rail fare price rises from January. Judging by the sign, the days of BR?are obviously long-forgotten

Metro the free London newspaper made fare rises its front page lead on August 16

The periodic ritual of media outrage at the state of the UK’s rail network, and the cost of using it, flared up again in mid-August, due primarily to the Government’s announcement of the rate of inflation that would be used to calculate permitted rail fare increases.

The Independent said the 8% rise in rail fares from January, in line with the Government’s current Retail Price Index plus 3% formula, was four times faster than the rise in the rate of the average income....