Feeling the strain

THE suggestion that Sir Roy McNulty will advocate further rises in rail prices when he publishes his industry review today, and justify this by saying passengers are willing to pay for increased ticket prices, needs to be placed in wider perspective.

UK fares are already the highest in Europe. They also rose by seven per cent in January, and more on some routes, when the coalition paved the way for operators to increase ticket prices by as much as five per cent above the rate of inflation.

With inflation now at its highest level for 30 months, there is every prospect of double-digit price increases in 2011 – and that is before Sir Roy’s conclusions are added to the equation.

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Yet, in suggesting that some prices are lower than a free market economy could, or should, bear, he fails to recognise that many commuters are compelled to pay high fares because they have to travel to work by train. Higher fares also mean they will have less money to spend on discretionary items – even though the Government is counting on the retail and leisure sectors to spark an upturn in the fortunes of the wider economy.

That said, there also needs to be a far greater onus on transport operators – large private entities – to raise their game when it comes to tackling overcrowding, concerns about reliability and poor customer service.

They say this is only achievable with longer franchises, a notion now being introduced, because it will allow them to plan for the future. There will certainly be no excuses for a sub-standard service if, as Sir Roy advises, train operators also become responsible for the maintenance of the tracks that they use.

However, it will still require the industry to be closely regulated – and it is weaknesses in the regulatory and pricing process that has allowed a railway network to evolve which takes the benevolence of passengers for granted.

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