The sad truth is that rail fares should be far higher

Surrey 455

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Posts: 1269

The sad truth is that rail fares should be far higher

« on: August 18, 2018, 22:20:03 »

Well, not my opinion but that of The Daily Telegraph. Most of the article is stuck behind a Premium Paywall (although you can read it all just by registering).

From The Telegraph

Quote

Rail fares need to rise and it is fantasy economics to claim otherwise.The Government has fallen into the "free stuff" trap. Train companies need to make bigger profits and commuters should be the ones to pay for it.

If not, we risk seeing more Carillion-type failures where politicians encourage companies to charge ultra-low prices without thinking about the need for public services to be run on a sustainable basis.

Hmmm... Discuss...


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JayMac

Data Manager
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Posts: 19244

Re: The sad truth is that rail fares should be far higher

« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2018, 22:40:55 »

The gist of the article is that car drivers pay too much tax and rail commuters, particularly those in London and the South East are being subsidised by them.

Age old 'us v them' argument. Move along, nothing to see here.


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ellendune

Transport Scholar
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Posts: 4504

Re: The sad truth is that rail fares should be far higher

« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2018, 08:04:36 »

Hmm

The worrying thing is that the people who proffer such arguments are the small government free marketeers in the right wing of the Tory Party (Rees Mogg etc) and they seem to be in the ascendency at the moment. Their argument would be that if rail cannot make money without subsidy it should be closed down. They have no truck with wider benefits to society. Equally their policy would be to buy the cheapest trains regardless of where they are made and if that means there are no British manufacturers that is nothing to them.

Not quite sure how they justify spending money on roads - I suspect they would support toll roads.


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plymothian

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Posts: 848

Re: The sad truth is that rail fares should be far higher

« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2018, 00:08:34 »

It has ever been thus (well more so since the 70s), the view is the railway - and all public services - should be self-funding, hence privatisation.


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