Rail fairs in East Midlands set to rocket

Analysis of season ticket prices for popular commuter routes across the Midlands show that some fares are set to rise by by 3.6per cent on average from January 2015.

For example a season ticket from Northampton to London is set to increase by £185 to an eye-watering £5,317; Chesterfield to Derby by £75 to £2,155; while Nottingham to Derby could rise from £1,372 to £1,421..

The TUC has set up a rail fare rise projector – ­available at www.tuc.org.uk/railfareprojector2015 – to show how regulated fares have increased since 2010.

Next year’s wage-busting fare hikes will mean that rail fares will have increased by 24.9 per cent over the current parliament (2010 to 2015), and have risen faster than wages in every year. Over the same period, average earnings have increased by just 10.7 per cent, meaning rail fares have risen more than twice as fast as wages under the current government.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary, Lee Barron said: “Yet again rail commuters in the Midlands are going to suffer from inflation busting rail fare rises for the coming year. And, of course, this is all happening at a time whilst wages are continuing to fall in real terms.

“It’s clear for all to see that privatisation of the rail network has led to higher prices year on year.

“We need to see immediate action to get fares under control and to build a rail network that works for ordinary people rather than the privateers who are bleeding commuters in the Midlands dry.”