Unless I'm mistaken, the RPI+3% is on regulated fares...where does the extra farebox revenue go, and how does this find it's way into the new rolling stock kitty?
The RPI+3% formula is government revenue raiser. Nothing more, nothing less. It will allow the government to reduce the contribution from the taxpayer to run our railways.
IIRC, in the last few years of BR, the taxpayer contributed about 25% towards the railway's running costs. The remaining 75% coming from fares. Thanks to financial mismanagement, politically motivated regulated fares, cost overuns and optimistic franchise commitments, 15 years on, we now have a situation where the cost of running the railways is now 50% met by the taxpayers. How on earth did we get to this financial mess, when we told the privatising our railways would save us all money ?
Our railways cost more than ever to run. In 1989, the Tisbury loop cost £400,000 to build. 20 years on, and further down the line, the Axminster loop cost £20 million. The additional Chesterfield platform recently cost £1 million to build...for just one piece of scaffold platform.
Multiple web sites, marketing policies and duplication of staff just add to the cost. And there's a whole army of staff whose sole job it is to allocate minutes and compensation between operators when delays arise.
Politicans know full well that our railways are even more 'deeply inefficient' than the deeply inefficient BR of which John Major spoke of prior to privatisation. But it's easier to raise fares than reform our railways and the savings which would follow.
In short, we (the passengers) and everyone in the UK (the taxpayers) are paying for past mistakes.
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