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Leeds-Manchester rail commuters face fare hike
Rail commuters between Leeds and Manchester could face soaring ticket prices as train bosses attempt to STOP them travelling in peak hours to ease overcrowding.
Bosses at Network Rail have told a Labour MP that the trans-Pennine route is now so packed with passengers in the morning and evening rush hours that "demand management" will have to be introduced, unless more services can be provided.
This would mean that ticket prices on the route would be hiked up to discourage passengers from travelling at the busiest times.
Labour MP Angela Smith, a member of the influential Commons transport committee, voiced her fears during a parliamentary debate in Westminster.
She said: "The Leeds to Manchester route has experienced rapid growth in demand.
"Forecasts of future growth suggest significant overcrowding is likely and that demand management will be necessary unless additional capacity is introduced."
She later told the YEP: "Demand management is where you start using various levers to depress demand - ticket prices being one of them.
"You would put up ticket prices up to actually discourage people from using the trains.
"It's a really, really negative way of running a railway."
The 43-mile journey by rail from Leeds to Manchester currently takes 55 minutes - an average speed as slow as London to Canterbury.
Projections published by Network Rail last year showed rail use increasing in Yorkshire by between 25 and 56 percent in the next 10 years – almost 50,000 more passenger trips each day.
It means commuters will be forced to stand on 79 per cent of morning rush-hour services – while 39 per cent of trains will exceed their theoretical seating and standing capacity.
Network Rail particularly highlighted passenger numbers on the Leeds to Manchester line, which will have "significant implications" for the ability of the trains to accommodate future growth.
A spokesman for First TransPennine Express, the train company which
runs the Leeds to Manchester service, said: "Our passenger numbers have grown significantly year-on-year as more people choose to travel by rail.
"In 2006 we invested 260m in a new fleet of trains which have provided additional capacity across our network and we are working with the Department for Transport to look at ways in which we can further improve capacity on our services in the future.
"First TransPennine Express is committed to providing a range of value for money fares on our services.
"Most peak fares are regulated by the Government and can not be raised by more than 1 per cent of the Retail Price Index."
Ms Smith also used her 90-minute parliamentary debate to call for more investment on the Leeds-Selby-York rail route.
She said: "Many trains during peak hours are either close to or in a few cases beyond nominal capacity on this corridor. "Significant overcrowding is forecast if additional capacity is not provided.
"Network rail are planning improvements in capacity on this line but in the longer term the corridor east of Leeds will need significant enhancements in order to deal with potential growth."
Ms Smith also highlighted the huge differences in transport spending between the north and London.
She said that the north "has not had its fair share of the cake" and that its funding package "is less than satisfactory".
And she pointed out that Northern Rail, which runs services through West Yorkshire, has had no new train carriages in the last five years, while commuter services in London and the South East have had 580 new carriages.
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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