Cllr Henry Vann- Rail Fares to Increase Yet Again

Rail fares are set to go up again for Bedford and Kempston commuters, with the Government announcing that another 1.9% increase is on the cards.

Rail fares have increased at twice the rate of wages over the last six years, even though our rail fares are already the highest in Europe!

On top of this, Bedford and Kempston commuters are getting one of the worst deals in the country with only 78.3% of Govia Thameslink route trains arriving at their final station on time, over 5% lower than the next worst.

At Bedford Station over the last year, the highest percentage of trains that arrived on time in a single four-week 'period' was just 69.5%- that means just over 30% of trains were late in the best performing period.

Henry Vann, local Liberal Democrat Councillor and a regular commuter said: 'The Government effectively sets the fares, gets the money, and decides who runs the trains. They are directly responsible for the current mess of more delayed and cancelled trains and yet they have the bare-faced cheek to - yet again - increase fares for local commuters, using us as a cash cow. They must get these runaway train fares under control.'