Stop the crime of rail fare increases – we commuters have had enough
As an NHS admin worker travelling daily from Ashford in Kent, to London, I pay almost £7,000 a year for a Gold Card that's a ticket to chaos. Now they want to hike fares by 5.5 per cent next year following this year's 4.6 per cent robbery. This isn't economics, it's extortion.
Where is this money going?
Not into the trains. Two weeks ago my London Charing Cross service was diverted to London Victoria without warning, stranding me and an elderly couple struggling with luggage as we crawled through the back of beyond.
Not in reliability. Trains are terminated early, abandoning commuters beyond Ashford. Punctuality? A sick joke.
Not into fairness. The London weighting we NHS staff get is devoured by these predatory fares.
I know where it is going – into the pockets of train bosses banking fat bonuses (yes, I said it) while we stand on platforms watching cancellation boards scream red.
They get rewarded for failure – we get punished for relying on the carcass of a service. The government promised nationalisation would fix this.
Instead it is greenlighting over-inflation hikes while we choke on diesel fumes from replacement buses.
How dare they preach affordability as they push fares toward £7,400 a year? That's 20 per cent of the average UK salary – for the privilege of daily misery!
We demand a freeze in fares, executive bonuses be clawed back and the money to be invested in signalling and staff plus guarantees that trains run their full routes.
To the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, I say this – step onto my morning train from Ashford. Smell the sweat and frustration. Look the NHS workers, the students and the elderly in the eye and tell them they deserve less while paying more.
Enough is enough. Stop the theft. Fix the trains. Angela, Ashford
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