Rail bosses have just announced the biggest hike in fares for five years -- and customers are not happy.

The rise would see customers paying up to 3.6% more than they were last year, for prices already the highest in Europe. With wages stagnating and people already struggling to cope, this sort of profiteering just doesn’t seem fair.

With Transport Secretary Chris Grayling conveniently flying out of the country on the day of the announcement, it took Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald to call for price increases to match the Consumer Price Index -- a move which could save passengers up to £500 over the course of a parliament.

Chris Grayling: put the British public before private rail profits, and fix ticket prices to the Consumer Price Index!

Rail fares have gone up three times faster than wages since the Tory party came into power in 2010.

Not only are our trains among the most expensive in Europe, they’re also among the worst performing: in the run-up to Christmas, 72.5% of services operated by First Rail Hull were late or cancelled, while Virgin Trains, which charges £169 for a peak-time single from Manchester to London, operated only 31% of services on time in the same period.

General secretary of the RMT union Mike Cash said: “While the British passenger is being pumped for cash, the same private companies are axing safety-critical staff and security on our trains and stations.”

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling: fare's fair -- tie price hikes to the CPI and end the great train-ticket robbery of the British people!

The franchise system, where private companies bid to run different networks, has ‘utterly failed’, according to MP Andy McDonald. “We have a fractured, expensive and complex system – it duplicates costs and there are dividends going out to subsidise railways on the continent… I think people have got to the end of their tether and quite understandably so.”

This can’t go on. Hundreds of thousands of SumOfUs members like you have stood up to this Tory government, when it has put private profit before public good -- whether it’s awarding G4S another PFI contract, or selling our NHS to the highest bidder, SumOfUs members have stood up to them and their rich mates. We’re stronger when we work together to hold those in power to account for a fairer society.

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