Unhappy New Year: Rail fares set to rocket by as much as 13%

From Ray Massey in the Daily Mail:

Rail passengers face ‘astronomical’ fare rises of up to 13 per cent in January – with worse to come.

The increases have sparked a furious row over ‘rip-off’ ticket prices, with rail company bosses accused of hiding the truth while passengers suffer ‘cattle-class’ conditions of overcrowding.

Train firms – which receive billions in taxpayer subsidies – were attacked by unions for the ‘outrageous’ rises.

The umbrella Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) announced yesterday that fares will rise in January by ‘an average of 6.2 per cent’.

This includes the 5.8 per cent Government cap on regulated fares, which account for 46 per cent of the total.

But there was fury when ATOC chief executive Michael Roberts refused to reveal how much the 54 per cent of unregulated fares – which can rise as high as the train company likes – were increasing.