A parliamentary report accuses train companies of exploiting passengers and taking advantage of the Government’s franchise system by raising fares at the worst possible time.

Though the UK is going through a recession and inflation is almost zero, rail companies have raised fares by more than 11% on some routes. They also make it very difficult for passengers to find the best-value fare deals, some of which are only to be found on the web and may take people hours to track them down.

The report, prepared by the House of Commons Transport Committee, also accuses companies of “back-door fare rises”, such as charging “prohibitive” prices for reserving seats. The committee’s chairman Louise Ellman MP said, “There is no point involving the private sector if companies can cream off the profits in good times, but leave passengers and taxpayers to pick up the bill when hard times hit.”

One suggested reform that was put forward was for the Government to grant longer franchises in order to encourage companies to plan for the longterm.

The report said the current franchising system – which it called “a muddle” – was not always serving the best interests of passengers. Furthermore the committee was concerned about not receiving full information regarding the financial stability of some franchise operators, many of which “may be struggling to meet their required financial arrangements without our knowledge”.

The general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Bob Crow said that “people are getting ripped off” and “the companies always put their fares up by 1 to 1.5% above inflation”.

Bearing the brunt of these train company “misdemeanours” are, of course, the passengers, who already have much to complain about in terms of poor service – big fare increases, late and overcrowded trains, excessive difficulties in getting best-deal fare tickets, and now an additional charge for reserving a seat (first-class and season-ticket holders are exempt from this charge). 
 

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