Runaway train fares are off the rails

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams has slammed the decision to put rail fares up again in January.

The cost of a season ticket from Greenfield to Huddersfield will have soared by £316 to £1,628 since 2010.

Mrs Abrahams said: “This is for a journey of seven miles that takes 21 minutes and is already wildly overpriced, given the failure of the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire transport authorities to agree an affordable fare policy.

“Earlier this year the Prime Minister said higher rail fares were necessary to fund improvement projects promised in the Conservative manifesto. But just weeks after the general election, key rail investment projects were cancelled.

“And this comes on the back of Rail Minister, Claire Perry, being criticised last year for saying that passengers should ‘start to realise that they are paying fair fares for comfortable commuting.’ Ministers should try commuting on our rolling stock and see how comfortable it really is. Rail users from Greenfield are paying more and more each year to travel on increasingly overcrowded and unreliable trains.”