RAILWAY workers gathered outside Barrow station to protest rising train prices across the country.

Members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers congregated outside Barrow railway station with placards reading slogans such as ‘cut fares not guards’.

It was announced yesterday rail commuters face an increase in season ticket costs next year of almost three per cent.

The cap on the annual rise in regulated fares is linked to July's rate of Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, which was announced by the Office for National Statistics as 2.8 per cent.

The price of an annual season ticket from Barrow to Preston will see an increase of £117 to £4,285.

Chair of Barrow RMT #1 Branch and a conductor out of Barrow, Hyder Prodhan, said: “The protest is part of a national protest against fare increases.

“The rises in rail prices are pricing ordinary people out of railway travel.

“In an area like Barrow, where people are so dependant on the rail travel, the increases create an undue burden.

“It also has the potential to cut off leisure links to and from the area.

“Private operators only care about profits.

“They’re cutting train staff to save money when in fact we need more not less.

“Train services should be there to meet the public need, not private greed.

“As a guard, I’m often embarrassed to quote the figures for people's train tickets.

“The increases are impacting some people's standard of living and it’s ordinary people, not the shareholders, being affected.”

Chris Altree, train signalman and Labour candidate for the next General Election, said: “As a member of the RMT, I’m here to highlight how we have some of the most expensive train fares in Europe.

“Since 2010 prices have increased whilst wages haven’t. I’s an assault on regular pay packets.

“Effectively people are being priced out of jobs in other areas as they can’t afford to get to them.

“I want to see state operated franchises and the profits returned to infrastructure.

“We want to see fully staffed stations and guards and drivers on every train.”