Railway firms offer Londoners raw deal

London: Rail passengers in London and the South-East endure the highest fares and the worst overcrowding in Europe, the government's own watchdog on Thursday revealed.

Season tickets for average commuter journeys are nearly twice as expensive as those in France and more than four times the cost of those in Italy.

Less than half (46 per cent) of the more than three million daily rail users believe they get value for money.

The watchdog, Passenger Focus, paints a damning picture of inflation-busting fare rises being imposed at the same time as services are cut, the length of trains reduced, ticket office opening times shortened and stations left without staff for longer periods.

Every rail company in the region increased average regulated fares by the maximum allowed last month (six per cent), adding hundreds of pounds to the cost of annual season tickets. Off-peak fares rose by up to 15 per cent.

The decision to allow Southeastern to increase peak-time fares by an average of eight per cent to help pay for new high-speed services from Ashford into St Pancras on the Channel Tunnel link was condemned as "unfair". The service will not be used by the majority of Southeastern passengers.

Ministers face a further criticism when the Commons Transport Committee publishes the findings of its own investigation into fares in a few weeks time.

The committee has accused rail bosses of "fleecing" passengers who have no alternative to rail travel.

The government is under pressure to change the system that allows rail firms to increase regulated fares by one per cent above the inflation rate in July, which was five per cent last year.

Passenger Focus also condemned the government policy of shifting more of the cost of funding the railways from the taxpayer to the passenger. This is used by the rail operators as a justification for repeatedly increasing fares by the maximum allowed.

Passenger Focus chairman Colin Foxall said passengers were "not happy with the value for money they are getting". He added: "Price of tickets is a key factor behind this but so is performance, overcrowding and managing delays. By comparison with some other European countries Britain's railways are generally more expensive, particularly in London and the South-East."