rural rail fares

During industrial disputes that strange category of people “the travelling public” sometimes emerge  from the shadows. They have been provoked by the latest proposed rail price rises to greater militancy focusing on picketing stations! On a more serious note, with relentless increases in the price of fuel, the proposed higher than inflation rises in train travel make many of us rural dwellers feel economically hemmed in and will I fear make many rural places even less sustainable. Particularly those within a short car drive of a railway station. This article tells us

Fares are due to rise on 1 January 2013 by three percentage points above the July’s inflation figure which was announced today. An unexpected rise in inflation to 3.2 per cent means train fares will increase on average by 6.2 per cent.

But with train operators allowed to raise some fares by an additional 5 per cent, some commuters could be paying 11.2 per cent more