Fares rise by up to 135% on London Overground

Transport chiefs were today accused of "sneaking through" the price rises on London Overground.

Transport for London took over the routes - which include what was the North London line - from Silverlink Metro last September.

Commuters on some of the routes will see their fares more than double after what TfL describes as a "simplification" of the fares structure.

The increases apply to passengers paying for individual tickets in cash. A standard return between West Brompton and Hackney Central rises from £3.40 to £8 (135 per cent).

A standard single between West Brompton and Hackney Central is up from £2 to £3, a single between Wembley Central and Clapham Junction increases from £2.30 to £3, and the cost of the return journey rises by 50 per cent from £4 to £6.

TfL today sought to play down the increases, saying they were part of a "fares revision" for the line that has led to an average price cut of 9p overall.

But a spokesman for the Gospel Oak to Barking and North London Line pressure group said: "These increases have been sneaked through without consultation.

"There may be some fare reductions but there are a number of substantial increases." He said that as the increases applied only to passengers paying by cash, they amounted to a "big disbenefit for anyone not using Oyster".

A TfL spokesman said the increases had been made now because there had not been time to make them to coincide with the national fares increases in January since it was only four months after TfL took over the line.

He confirmed the cash fare between Hackney Central and West Brompton has increased to £8 but said: "For those passengers using Oyster the fare is £1 single and £2 return."

The spokesman said the changes had been made to "simplify the fares structure" and cited several fares that have gone down in price.

For example, an off-peak one-day Travelcard from Watford High Street to central London comes down from £11.90 to £8.20 and a standard day return from Brondesbury Park to Kensington Olympia is halved from £6 to £3.

Shashi Verma, TfL's director for fares and ticketing, added: "Our priority is to provide a simple fares structure and offer the best value possible.

"The simple-to-understand fares policy on London Overground, along with the introduction of the full range of Oyster ticketing, has been widely appreciated by passengers."

She said TfL could not achieve its objective of standardising the fares "without raising some of them".