On 1st January 2017, the government will announce a further rise in rail fares for UK train passengers. It’s the Christmas present no one asked for – rather than giving us the gift of proper investment in rail infrastructure and full public ownership, yet again passengers are paying more but getting less.
While fares keep rising, cuts to services and staffing are taking place across the network – with more ticket offices closing, removal of guards from trains, extension of driver only operations and fewer staff at stations to provide help when we need it.
Action for Rail is organising a day of action on Tuesday, 3rd January 2017. We are calling for a publicly owned railway with affordable fares to end this #RailRipOff.
Eastbourne Trade Unionists will be joining with our friends from Eastbourne Labour Party at Eastbourne Rail Station first thing in the morning to support the campaign.
Eastbourne Labour Party's Jake Lambert (also a delegate to the Trades Council from the East Sussex NUT union) has consistently called for Southern to be stripped of the franchise.
Public ownership of rail could deliver cheaper fares. If the lines up for renewal this parliament were taken back into public ownership, that could save around £1.5bn – which could fund a 10 per cent cut in season tickets and other regulated fares from 2017. A third (£520m) of this £1.5bn saving would come from recouping the money private train companies pay in dividends to their shareholders.
Find out more about the Action for Rail campaign by clicking here.
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