Cattle Trains

The Campaign for Better Transport has recently commissioned a YouGov poll that found that 74% of commuting rail users could switch their vote away from parties that back a rise in the cap on regulated fare rises. CBT then quote a series of journeys: Hastings to London, Milton Keynes to London, Gillingham to London, Reading to London and Brighton to London and give their annual fares as they might be in 2015 if the change goes ahead.

The first point is that no-one wants their fares to go up. Some of these long distance commuters pay fares above £4,000 a year already – so no wonder they get upset.

The second point is that these journeys are very long. We live in a reasonably free country so broadly speaking if people want to travel that far to work then I suppose they may do so. But to have their fares kept artificially low – it will only encourage them to commute even longer distances.

Most people – even today and even in this country – die only a few miles from where they were born. Few people are heavy users of airplanes, cars or trains. Although, they do not cause as many problems for the environment as air users, long distance commuters have a high impact on the environment compared to most people in this country. It could be argued that they are the 4×4 people of the train world.

I think if the trains are full going into London in the morning then the fare should rise (gently above RPI) and if the morning train is empty going towards Brighton then the fare should fall – with any gains to be invested in making the journey more pleasant for those who find themselves in such situations. Frankly, in potentially full trains, I’d ban standing and I’d require each seat to be booked. That comfort does not come cheap.

Understandably, MPs with electorates in these areas have to respond with electoral finesse to their voters concerns. Life isn’t always easy – if you want a premium job in London (why else would you work in the great wen) and a pleasant natural breeze in your bedroom by the sea don’t be surprised that many other people want the same thing as you. Then up goes the price of shoddy.