COMMUTERS face the biggest rail fare hike in five years as the price of tickets will rise by 3.6 per cent.

The rise in price, which is controlled by the government, will affect passengers in England and Wales from January next year.

Linked to the retail price index the increase is the largest since 2011 and has resulted in rail unions clamouring for renationalisation.

Early this morning union representatives from Furness gathered outside our local stations to join a national campaign, protesting against the increase.

Mandy Penellum, chair of the Barrow Trades Union Council, said: "The campaign has been growing for some time now, keeping the public engaged. The public understand there is a problem with the franchise and people don't want to be isolated.

"I think members of the public understand it is not the fault of the workers on the trains."

The government has been criticised for not basing ticket price increases on the more commonly used national statistic, the consumer price index. This year the RPI rose at a higher rate than inflation.

Leader of the RMT Union, Mick Cash, said the increase was a "kick in the teeth" for passengers.

He said: "The huge hike in fares confirmed today is another kick in the teeth for passengers who already fork out colossal sums to travel on rammed out, unreliable trains while the private operators are laughing all the way to the bank."

In south Cumbria the impact of price increases is more sharply felt against the backdrop of potential rail staff cuts.

Bernard Atkinson, branch secretary of the Cumbria and Lakes RMT, said: "If we lose the guards [on trains] we are gone, if we lose the ticket offices, they are gone. It leaves the public isolated and affects the family members of those whose jobs were cut."

John Woodcock, MP for Barrow and Furness, lamented the increase saying passengers in Furness were not getting value for money.

He said: "It is completely unacceptable for rail users in Furness to be hit with yet another eye-watering rise when the service they use continues to be so inconsistent and sub-standard.

"The government have cancelled much-needed rail upgrades in Cumbria, and guards are being removed from our trains, and yet we are being asked to pay 2017 prices for a railway from the last century."

The government has said its policy was "fairly balanced" when improvements to the network were considered.

A spokesman for the department for transport said: "We have always fairly balanced the cost of this investment between the taxpayer and the passenger."

Here is a list of the average change in regulated rail fares in Britain for each of the past 10 years.

The figures are based on data from the Office of Rail and Road.

In each case the change took effect in January.

• 2008: up 5.1 per cent

• 2009: up 6 per cent

• 2010: down 0.4 per cent

• 2011: up 6.4 per cent

• 2012: up 6.2 per cent

• 2013: up 4.2 per cent

• 2014: up 3 per cent

• 2015: up 2.4 per cent

• 2016: up 0.8 per cent

• 2017: up 1.9 per cent

• 2018: (forecast) up 3.5 per cent

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