Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, responding to the news that rail fares are to rise by 2.3 per cent on average from next year, said:

“Passengers are told that higher fares are necessary to fund investment, but vital projects have been delayed by years.

“Rail fares have risen by 25 percent on average in the last six years alone, whilst real wages remain below their 2008 levels.

“Money that could be used to keep fares down or reinvested to improve our services is instead subsidising the profits of private companies and other nation’s railway systems – it’s a scandal.

“Labour will put an end to Britain’s rip-off railways by ensuring that as private contracts expire, the routes return to public ownership so profits can be re-invested to improve services and hold fares down.”