Rail fare increases must be justified - Nicholson

11.10.00am GMT Tue 8th Jan 2008

On Monday morning, local Lib Dem campaigners, including local Parliamentary Spokespersons Chris Nicholson (Streatham) and Caroline Pidgeon (Vauxhall), launched a rail passenger survey outside Streatham's main train stations.

The survey forms part of a London-wide consultation of rail passengers currently being sponsored by Brian Paddick, the former Lambeth police boss now chosen as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral election.

The start of 2008 has been an unhappy one for many rail passengers in London as rail fares rose above inflation at a time when overcrowded carriages and delays continue to plague journeys to and from central London.

Chris Nicholson doesn't think the latest fare rises represent value for money.

Southern Railways which serves Streatham, Streatham Common and Streatham Hill stations where the rail survey was conducted saw a rise of 4.8% in both regulated and unregulated fares, significantly above the rate of inflation.]

Speaking about the launch of the survey, local Lib Dem campaigner Chris Nicholson said:

"It was a cold morning but we got a very warm response from commuters. They were glad to be asked their views and many were very clear that there is no justification for fares rising whilst they continue to experience overcrowded trains."

"I just don't think that the current round of price increases can represent value for money."

"The Liberal Democrats would invest extra money in the rail network through new green taxes, not by just taking it out of passengers' pockets like the Government is happy to do."

"The Streatham Liberal Democrats also want to see the proposed cross river tram travel further south than Brixton, and travelling down to Streatham so local people would have extra choice on how to get to Waterloo and beyond."

Notes

A "Future Transport Fund" is part of Lib Dem plans to tackle climate change and could provide up to £12 billion in extra money to improve capacity on the UK's rail network. The fund would be paid for by new charges for taking freight on the roads and on people taking internal UK flights. For more information on Lib Dem policy on the rail network please go to: http://www.libdems.org.uk/transport/issues/rail.html