Things are hard financially for a very high percentage of the country.

Many people will find themselves out of work, or on reduced hours and will ultimately have less hard earned cash in their pockets to spend on essentials.

That is just the way the world is going to be for the coming months, and beyond that the cost of paying back the billions spent tackling the crisis is going to be felt for years to come.

So this week's rail price hikes that are set to be introduced will just come as another body blow to the hard working member of society.

On the face of it people will say a 1.6 per cent rise isn't the biggest.

But when rail tickets are already high, it is just another burden.

Once upon a time rail tickets were supposed to be cheaper than jumping in your car, but for the large amount of train journeys that just isn't the case.

The price of a train ticket has soared in recent years, and the latest increase may only serve to drive passengers off trains rather than getting people on them.

We live in a world people spout of about sustainable transport and how people should use public transport more.

That's all well and good, but putting up prices, at a time when the country is in recession and people are feeling the pinch just seems counter productive. It's another hit to the hardworking member of society.