Wednesday, January 23, 2008
A rail scandal
LIB DEM RESEARCH REVEALS BRITAIN HAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE RAIL FARES IN EUROPE
Rail travel in Britain is more expensive than anywhere else in Europe, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. The figures show that, on average, £10 will buy a ticket for 27 miles travel by train in Britain, compared with nearly 50 miles in France and 383 miles in Latvia. Six years ago, British train passengers could travel 55 miles for £10. The figures, based on a comparison of European fares published in this year's Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable, show it costs nearly £40 to travel an average of 100 miles in Britain. [Telegraph]
The Lib Dems have regularly pointed out that our rail fares are the most expensive in Europe and have continued to rise in real terms, while the cost of motoring is falling. Massive fare rises, like the ones we saw earlier this month, are pricing travellers off the railways. Labour ministers regard spending on the roads as investment but spending on the railways as subsidy, just as their Tory counterparts did.
Rail travel in Britain is more expensive than anywhere else in Europe, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. The figures show that, on average, £10 will buy a ticket for 27 miles travel by train in Britain, compared with nearly 50 miles in France and 383 miles in Latvia. Six years ago, British train passengers could travel 55 miles for £10. The figures, based on a comparison of European fares published in this year's Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable, show it costs nearly £40 to travel an average of 100 miles in Britain. [Telegraph]
The Lib Dems have regularly pointed out that our rail fares are the most expensive in Europe and have continued to rise in real terms, while the cost of motoring is falling. Massive fare rises, like the ones we saw earlier this month, are pricing travellers off the railways. Labour ministers regard spending on the roads as investment but spending on the railways as subsidy, just as their Tory counterparts did.
# posted by John Beanse @ 8:09 AM 
