West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper has condemned Tory Ministers after a brutal 3.8% train fares hike was announced last week.  

Labour has compared the costs on over 180 train routes between when the Conservatives came to power and the projected new prices that will be implemented.  

And this new analysis shows for commuters across the North West, they will be paying anywhere between £200 and £2,200 more for a season ticket since the Tories came to power.  

The average commuter nationwide faces paying a staggering £3,263 for their season ticket – £1069, or 49% more, than in 2010.   

New figures released by Labour show:  

• Average fares will rise to 48.9% more than they were in 2010. 

• That some commuters will be paying over £3,900 more to travel to work than in 2010. 

• Average fares have risen twice as fast as wages.   

West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper said:
“Many families in West Lancashire are already struggling to make ends meet, and rather than give them a helping hand the Tories have piled on more misery.  

“The worst part is that the communities who will feel the brunt of years of broken promises, empty words and no action are at the same time being squeezed by the Conservatives’ tax hikes and rising bills, as those with the broadest shoulders remain largely untouched.  

“Constituents in Burscough and Ormskirk face season ticket fares of £1,400 up to over £2,000 and rising to commute to work in the cities, while we still wait and campaign for those in Skelmersdale to even have the option of rail travel.  

“And with these rises, commuters will be asking what more are they getting given the state of the rolling stock on Northern, regular train cancellations and delays, and cutting of direct services to Manchester Airport.”  

Louise Haigh MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, said: 
“This brutal Tory fare hike will be a nightmare for millions of passengers.  

“Families already facing soaring taxes and bills will now be clobbered with an eyewatering rise in the cost of the commute.   

“Many will wonder what planet Ministers are on if they think people can afford this?  

“People up and down this country are paying the price for a crisis made in Downing Street.”  

• The average commuter will be paying £3,263 for their season ticket in 2022, £1,069 more than in 2010. 

• The average 2017 annual season ticket reportedly costs £2,788.[1] Regulated rail fares rose by 27.1% between 2010 and 2017, which means that the average season ticket in 2010 would have cost £2,194. A 49% (from 2010-2022) increase on £2,194 is £3,263.

Top 5 highest rises in cash terms   

Top 5 highest rises in percentage terms 

Fare rises in Ministers’ constituencies 

Season ticket data for 2010 has been taken from the Avantix Traveller (National Fares Manual) database. http://data.atoc.org/fares-data   

2022 are based on a 3.8% increase on 2021 prices which have been taken from the National Rail season ticket calculator. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/Season-Calculator.aspx   

• Regulated rail fares, which include season tickets and most other commuter tickets, will have risen by 50% on average between 2010 and 2022.  

• Regulated fares have risen by more than the average on some routes because Ministers decided to restore ‘flex,’ the train companies’ right to vary prices by up to 5 per cent, between 2011 and 2014.  
• In September 2014 the Department for Transport introduced a new evening peak period in metropolitan areas on the Northern franchise, which raised the cost of travel by up to 162%.    

• Median weekly wages grew by 22.5% between 2010 and 2021 

 ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2020, 26 October 2021, https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2021