Green Party leader Natalie Bennett joined in with the Valentine’s spirit yesterday – by showing her support for the Love Trains – Hate High Fares demonstration at St. Pancras.
Underneath St Pancras’s statue of an embracing couple, Natalie Bennett, far left, called for the government to open its arms to the renationalisation of Britain’s railways
The Green Party Leader and Camden resident called for the renationalisation of the nation’s railways, as she backed the Together for Transport campaign to stop rocketing ticket prices forcing people to stay at home – or into cars.
She said: “Privatisation has been disastrous for the rail system. It has failed on every possible criteria.
“One of those is clearly high fares. I’m delighted to support this event, as the cost of tickets has increased shockingly. Prices have increased in many cases by more than three times the cost of living. It’s forcing travellers off the trains, and putting huge strain on household budgets also under pressure from rising food, energy and housing costs.”
Since our rail service was privatised in 1993, a number of rail journeys have increased in price by a rate that dwarfs the increase in the overall cost of living, the Retail Price Index, which has gone up just 66 per cent over the same period. These include a number of journeys from London to Manchester, the cost of which has risen by 208 per cent, London to Exeter (205 per cent) and London to Cardiff (196 per cent). Rail fares in England were famously the most expensive in Europe – in many cases ten times those elsewhere in the EU for journeys of the same distance – even before the Coalition allowed a further increase in January this year.
Calling for an end to the failed privatisation experiment, Ms Bennett said: “Renationalisation can help bring prices back down and help people get back on the trains. Private companies’ priority is profit, not services, and they are taking huge profits out of the rail system, at the expense of all of us who use them.
“Ticket prices are making it impossible for many to use the trains. It stops families and friends getting together and even stops people taking jobs because the cost of travel is so high.
“Environmentally, it’s vital, too. The Green Party wants to make in all areas of life the environmentally friendly choice the cheapest, simplest and most convenient option. We should work to ensure rail travel is always be cheaper than driving.”