FEATURED ARTICLE
The facts about rail fares
Rail fare rises are one of the most emotive transport issues for passengers and
customers rightly want to feel they get value for money. The spotlight in the
media regularly falls on train companies as campaigners call for “fairer fares”.
But what are the facts and what is the real story behind the headlines?
For many years, the policy of various Government administrations has focused
on shifting the funding of the UK railways from the taxpayer to the passenger.
Government support for the industry has dropped sharply over the past five
years, falling from £6.31bn in 2006-07 to 5.2bn in 2008-09 and £3.96bn in 2010-11,
according to figures from the Office for Rail Regulation.
Throughout this period, the average operating margin of train operators in
the UK – that is profit as a percentage of the revenue it collects – has remained
fairly constant at around 3p to 4p in every £1 of the cost of a rail ticket.
The rest goes towards the significant cost of running train services...READ ON