Fares up and rail delays for return to work

There was mounting anger at rail, Tube and bus fares which all rose by an average of six per cent. The biggest rises saw some passengers paying 15 per cent more for their tickets, while more than 500,000 commuters will have to pay up to 10 per cent more.

As they forked out for the increased cost of travel, disruption hit Euston and Liverpool Street, two of London's busiest mainline terminals.

At Euston, Virgin trains were severely delayed after an express train ripped down overhead wiring outside Watford Junction, while engineering works overran at Liverpool Street. A number of National Express East Anglia services were cancelled or delayed. Engineers worked through the night to repair the damage at Watford Junction but were unable to get full services working in time for the morning rush.

But concern was focused on the scale of the increases faced by passengers, while the Government was in disarray over the growing fares rebellion.

It is refusing demands to change the formula of basing fare increases in January on inflation in July. The figure in July was five per cent, leading to the average six per cent rise today.

Labour MP Louise Ellman said passengers were being priced off the railways with the inflation-linked rises and her transport select committee is now considering a full-scale inquiry.

Mayor Boris Johnson was also under attack over his six per cent rise in most bus and Tube fares. The most significant is the 11 per cent rise in Oyster pay-as-you-go bus fares, from 90p to £1.

Tube fare rises include Oyster pay-as-you-go in zones one and two up from £1.50 to £1.60, while a weekly Travelcard from zone six to zone one goes up from £44.60 to £47.60.

Former mayor Ken Livingstone said: "Above-inflation fares hitting Londoners going back to work today provides them with a New Year hangover courtesy of the Mayor."

The biggest rises have hit mainline rail as firms exploit regulations allowing them to increase some fares by more than average in return for limiting others.

A South West Trains day return between Waterloo and Weymouth now costs £53.50 - a 15.1 per cent rise in a year. SWT is owned by Stagecoach, which reported an interim increase in operating profits of 25.3 per cent to £31.7 million for the six months ending 31 October.

Southeastern, the busiest commuter operator, has permission to raise its peak time fares by RPI plus three per cent, to fund new high-speed services on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from Ashford into St Pancras International.

Gerry Doherty, leader of the TSSA rail union, said: "Ministers are penalising long-suffering passengers by allowing this price-fixing cartel to go on. This rip-off should be halted immediately by scrapping this fares formula and freezing fares until we emerge from the recession."

The Association of Train Operating Companies said it was only the Government which could make changes to the way fares are calculated.

The Department for Transport ruled out any change. A spokeswoman said: "The fares increases in 2010 will be based on July 2009's Retail Price Index figure.

"The Fares Index published by the Office of Rail Regulation shows increases in regulated (peak) fares have been, on average, below inflation over the 10 years to 2008."