THE borough’s deputy mayor and Labour County Councillor, Joe Baker was asked to leave the platform at Redditch railway station by staff on Monday (January 4) after protesting against the latest round of train fare hikes.
Coun Baker had been busy chatting to commuters and said that incremental increases in rail fares had led to a 25 per cent rise over the last five years before calling for the re-nationalisation of the railways.
“Because it’s happening in little bits, people don’t notice,” he said. “The railways have been privatised since the Tory government got in, so this situation only highlights the need to re-nationalise them.
“Re-investment into the railway system is logical because it gets us a better service, which means more people will use it – and the more who use it, the cheaper it gets.”
The latest fare increase of an average 1.1 per cent sees some monthly rail tickets rise by £2.70 to £131.80.
One passenger, student, Elena Robinson said: “We have to pay even more now and we’re classed as adults, even though we’re still only 16.”
Another said her travel costs had gone up by £2 per month and while she was not financially affected by the rise, a poor service did not justify the increase.
However, one commuter said the price rise was justified by the fact there were now three trains per hour leaving Redditch Railway Station.
Redditch MP Karen Lumley said: “I accept that any increase in regulated fares is regrettable, but record amounts are being invested to achieve better train services. We have seen the direct benefit of this in Redditch, with three trains an hour now running instead of two.”
