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THE revelation that train fares in Britain are 50 per cent more expensive than in the rest of Europe can only exasperate passengers whose New Year increases of six per cent for peak-time fares greatly exceeded inflation. And that finding from the watchdog Passenger Focus disguises even bigger differences between our fares and those of our European neighbours. In terms of turn-up-and-go fares, Britain is nearly 90 per cent more expensive than Germany, and more than three times as expensive as the Netherlands. For annual commuter season tickets, Britain is nearly 90 per cent more expensive than France, and more than four times higher than Italy.
The train operators take comfort from the fact that book-ahead special fares are cheaper here than elsewhere. But most people do not plan months ahead for their travel. In any event, the availability of these heavily advertised deals is restricted, as well as the times during which they are valid, and the operators never reveal just how many tickets are for sale at the price. The thrust of the report is unambiguous: British passengers pay far more for rail than the generously subsidised Europeans. It is likely to be replicated by the Commons Transport Committee report on fares in a few weeks' time. And Andrew Adonis, the Transport Minister, has declared that the Government has no intention of raising the subsidy by the £500 million it would, he says, cost to bring fares in line with Europe's.
If it were the case that punctuality, spaciousness and service were far better on British trains that would be another matter. However, operators are cutting back on ticket-office opening hours, the staffing of stations and on-board facilities while overcrowding has increased. To make matters worse, passengers face the prospect of strikes from 25 March if RMT members vote in favour. They are protesting at job cuts. It is by no means always the case that the union speaks for passengers, too, but here its concerns reflect those of the train-travelling public.
Stickier wicket
THE MORE that emerges about the empire of Sir Allen Stanford, the Texan tycoon knighted by the Antiguan government, the more surprising it seems that the England and Wales Cricket Board should have embraced him as a potential saviour of the game. Sir Allen's assets have been frozen by the US securities regulators as they investigate multi-billion dollar fraud charges.
Even though most business people learn in their cradles to ask who a firm's auditors are before doing deals, the men from the ECB seem not to have noticed that their new sponsor's Stanford International Bank had its accounts approved by an obscure practice in Antigua. The founder of the audit practice, CAS Hewlett, died last month and it transferred operations to a flat off the North Circular Road, where no one appears to have heard of it. The Serious Fraud Office is now investigating.
Under these circumstances, heads must roll. The ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, a vigorous proponent of a long-term deal with Stanford even as others voiced doubts, must take responsibility. His intentions may have been good but as former England Test captain Mike Atherton says, the consequences are not. Mr Clarke's may be an unpaid role, unlike that of the ECB's chief executive David Collier, but when such serious errors of judgment have been made, there can be no fresh start until there is a new face at the very top. That is what chairmen are for.
Good for the girls
THE Brit awards last night were a deserved triumph for Duffy, the young singer from Wales, but they were a good night, too, for Girls Aloud, described by our correspondent as "looking like a crazed hen do in search of a karaoke bar". The awards may be commercialised, sanitised and choreographed but somehow they still add to the gaiety of the nation.
Reader views (2)
Bear in mind that for annual season tickets in France, in the major cities such as Paris and Lyon, employers are obliged by law to pay 50% which is a tax free perk to employees so in reality Londoners are even worse off!
French visitors to me cannot believe that a single ticket from St Pancras to Blackheath - 10 miles costs £7.10 - a £4 tube fare and a £3.10 train fare.
- Andrew, London, 20/02/2009 16:24
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i enquired for my wife and me to go from euston to edingburgh by train 176 pounds each return far to dear this was off peak aswell
- C May, biggin hill, 19/02/2009 12:20
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