More misery for commuters as RPI inflation rate used to determine most season ticket fares hits 12.3% – its highest rate in 40 years – ahead of another rail strike tomorrow
- July’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation was 12.3 per cent, the highest since 1982
- The Department for Transport said train fares would grow below rate of inflation
- Just a fifth of UK train services will run on August 18 and 20 due to rail strikes
Train fares could soar after the inflation figure usually used to decide ticket prices hit its highest level in 40 years.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed July’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation was 12.3 per cent – up from 11.8 per cent in June and the highest since January 1982.
The RPI figure in July is usually used by the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments to decide the cap on regulated train fares the next year, which includes most season tickets on commuter routes. Unregulated fares are set by train operators.
The Department for Transport announced on Monday that the 2023 increase in regulated fares in England will be below the inflation measurement.
Wales usually makes similar fare changes to England, while the Scottish Government has not announced its plan for 2023.
Rail services across the country will be impacted as thousands of workers walk out on strike on Thursday and Saturday. Pictured is Waterloo station during the national rail strike on June 21
Workers from the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions will go on strike on two days this week. Pictured is a sign announcing the strike action at Waterloo station
Fares in Northern Ireland are set by operator Translink, which does not use RPI.
Chris Page, chair of pressure group Railfuture, said: ‘The Government claims that the fare rise will be below inflation, but the devil will be in the detail.
‘They won’t say what the increase will be, or which fares it will apply to.
‘If the Government was serious about tackling the cost-of-living crisis it would make rail travel much more affordable and make it easier for people to use cars and planes less.
‘Germany has shown the way with its nine euro (£7.58) travelcard offer.
‘It proves that if the price is right, people will flock to the trains.’
Passengers are braced for more rail strikes on Thursday and Saturday, with only around a fifth of Britain’s train services operating and just half of lines open.
Just a fifth of the UK’s trains will run on Thursday August 18 and Saturday August 20 because of the rail workers strike.
Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association and Unite at Network Rail and 14 train companies will strike in the long-running row over pay, jobs and conditions.
Analysis of Office of Rail and Road data by the PA news agency published on Tuesday found that industrial disputes, severe weather and coronavirus-related staff sickness caused the worst year for train reliability in Britain since records began.
The cancellations score in the 12 months to July 23 was 3.6%, which is the highest figure in records dating back to 2015.
How are train operators affected by rail strikes?
Trains will only operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm on both strike days (August 18 and 20) and will start later than normal on the following mornings.
Here is a breakdown of each operator’s plan for Thursday and Saturday:
Avanti West Coast
The operator has been running a reduced timetable since Sunday due to many drivers no longer volunteering to work on their rest days for extra pay.
On strike days there will be one train per hour in both directions between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston.
A limited service will operate to Glasgow.
Several areas will not be served, such as Blackpool, Edinburgh, North Wales and Shrewsbury.
c2c
It will operate fewer than a third of normal services.
These will consist of two trains per hour in each direction between London Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness via Laindon, and the same frequency between London Fenchurch Street and Pitsea via Rainham.
No trains will run via Ockendon or Chafford Hundred.
Caledonian Sleeper
All departures are cancelled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night.
Chiltern Railways
Thursday: No trains will run north of Banbury or to/from Oxford station.
There will be one train per hour in both directions between London Marylebone and each of Aylesbury via High Wycombe; Banbury; and Oxford Parkway.
The same frequency will be in place between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Amersham.
Saturday: No trains will run north of High Wycombe or Aylesbury due to the combination of planned engineering work and the strike.
There will be two trains per hour in both directions between London Marylebone and High Wycombe, and one per hour between London Marylebone and Aylesbury via Amersham.
CrossCountry
Thursday: No direct services will run between Birmingham and Cambridge, Cardiff, Nottingham, Peterborough and Stansted Airport.
A very limited service is planned between Birmingham and Bristol; Edinburgh via Leeds, York and Newcastle; Leicester; Manchester; and Southampton via Reading.
Saturday: No direct services will run between Birmingham and Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Nottingham, Peterborough and Stansted Airport.
A very limited service is planned from Birmingham to Manchester and Southampton, and from Derby to Edinburgh via Leeds, York and Newcastle.
East Midlands Railway
Just one train per hour will run in each direction between London St Pancras and each of Nottingham and Sheffield; and between Derby and both Matlock and Nottingham.
There will also be one service per hour between Nottingham and Leicester on Thursday but not on Saturday.
All other routes will be closed.
Gatwick Express
Services will be suspended. Passengers travelling to or from Gatwick Airport can use Southern and Thameslink trains.
Grand Central
Just three trains in each direction will run between London King’s Cross and both Northallerton and Wakefield Kirkgate.
Great Northern
There will be very few trains, with no services east of Ely to King’s Lynn.
Great Western Railway
No services will run on many routes, such as all those in Cornwall, branch lines in Devon, between Cardiff and Swansea, and between Bath and Portsmouth.
Greater Anglia
On strike days, the company will not run any trains on its regional and branch lines.
A very limited service will operate on some routes to and from London Liverpool Street.
Heathrow Express
A full service will operate, but only between 7.30am and 6.10pm.
Hull Trains
Trains will only run between Doncaster and London King’s Cross, with five in each direction.
London North Eastern Railway
Thursday: Only two trains per hour will operate between Edinburgh and London King’s Cross, and one per hour doing part of the route.
Saturday: Only one train per hour will operate between Edinburgh and London King’s Cross, and two per hour doing part of the route.
London Northwestern Railway
A limited service will run to and from Birmingham New Street and both Crewe and London Euston.
Other routes will be closed.
Lumo
A reduced timetable will be in place between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh.
Merseyrail
A limited service will operate.
No trains will run between Chester and Rock Ferry or Ellesmere Port and Rock Ferry.
Northern
Passengers are urged “not to travel” as only a small number of routes will have trains.
Routes that will be open include Liverpool to Manchester; Manchester to Alderley Edge; York to Leeds; and Leeds to Sheffield.
ScotRail
Trains will only run across the Central Belt, Fife and the Borders.
South Western Railway
A “severely limited service” will run, and only between London Waterloo and Basingstoke, Southampton, Windsor and Woking.
Southeastern
Only 44 out of 180 stations will be open, with the vast majority of the network in Kent and East Sussex closed.
The high-speed route to Ashford International will be open.
Southern
Much of the network will be shut down.
Services will run on the Brighton Mainline to London Bridge and London Victoria, with additional trains from Tattenham Corner, Epsom Downs, Sutton and West Croydon via Crystal Palace.
Stansted Express
Two trains per hour will run between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport on Thursday.
Details have not been released for Saturday.
Thameslink
There will be far fewer trains than normal.
Services will be split north and south, with nothing running between London St Pancras and London Bridge.
TransPennine Express
There will only be a very limited service, with just these routes open: Manchester Airport to Preston; Manchester Piccadilly to York; Newcastle to Edinburgh; and Cleethorpes to Sheffield.
Transport for Wales
Most lines will be closed.
An hourly service will run between Cardiff and Newport, with limited trains elsewhere.
West Midlands Railway
A limited service will operate only between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch/Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street; Crewe and Birmingham New Street via Wolverhampton; and Birmingham New Street and London Euston via Northampton.
Source: PA
Source: Read Full Article