Campaigners have called on the government to rethink rail fares as commuters return to work facing another 2.8% rise in the cost of their travel. The latest above-inflation increase will add more than £100 to many season tickets.
Darren Shirley, the chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Rail passengers are tired of rising fares and broken promises. It’s time for a complete overhaul of the fares system and a fairer way to calculate future level [of fares].”
Bruce Williamson, of the pressure group Railfuture, said: “Welcome to another decade of misery for rail passengers. How on earth is the government going to meet its climate commitments by pricing people off environmentally friendly trains and on to our polluted and congested roads?”
Meanwhile, in Germany, Deutsche Bahn unrolled new prices for 2020 and made its tickets 10% cheaper for long-distance traffic. The German governmentcut the value-added tax (VAT) on rail travel in December from 19% to 7% in an effort to make train travel more attractive. The company is also cutting prices on special offers and additional services, such as fees for transporting bicycles. The move stems from the climate protection measures.
Deutsche Bahn is a private, joint-stock company with the Federal Republic of Germany being its single shareholder. The state-owned company is also set to spend some €12 billion ($13.46 billion) by 2026 to buy new trains, most of it for its Intercity-Express (ICE) fleet.
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