RAIL union RMT can reveal on the eve of the announcement of the next rail fare increase, that a new poll of rail users from across the UK shows that 7 in 10 passengers have been negatively affected, in various ways, by rising rail fares.

That includes rail users in East Scotland who have problems with rising fares.

Impacts on passengers include: pressure on monthly finances, being prevented from visiting family and friends, thinking about using other forms of transport for leisure and work and being forced to cut back on other expenses.

Despite ever increasing rail fares, private train companies continue to cut station and on train staffing and close ticket offices in order to extract as much profit as possible from the system. Yet again, when the next fare increase takes effect, from January 2020, passengers will be paying even more, but getting less.

This injustice is further evidenced by additional poll results which show that 60% of rail users think rail fares are either poor or awful value for money and a massive 73% believe that their train company is most motivated by making a profit rather than providing a good service for passengers.

RMT will be holding protests around the country to call on the new Transport Secretary to put the travelling public rather than private shareholders first and renationalise our railways.

It is a national disgrace that the majority of UK rail passengers say that rising rail fares have forced them to make cut backs elsewhere. Our railways should be run as an affordable and accessible public service and not for private profit.

Keith Williams has said he will prioritise passengers in his rail review, but unless he recommends renationalisation, it will be clear he is merely giving lip service to the idea of improving our railways for the benefit of passengers.

These poll results send a clear message to the new Transport Secretary that rail passengers have had enough of being ripped off by the private rail companies’ profiteering. They deserve better.

MIKE CASH,

RMT General Secretary.