Rail fare increases: a change to CPI?

[virgintrain1]

Out of interest can you explain how say, a 3.5% pay rise is part of this magical 'Race to the bottom' everyone talks about?

So you've saying most industries outside the railway is getting 3.5%?

 

[mrmatt]

egulated fares have been determined by Government since 1993 not by the TOC's - how can he exhort them to use CPI when they have no choice in the matter?

I suspect (although i dont know - there may be some compensating mechanism in the contracts) given franchise premiums will have been calculated with RPI level in mind the DfT my have a few frank conversations with TOCs if they enforced it. I'd be surprised if the bids took no account if it over 7 years

 

[SPADTrap]

Out of interest can you explain how say, a 3.5% pay rise is part of this magical 'Race to the bottom' everyone talks about?

I can explain how pitching passenger vs staff is the beginning of it if you like?

 

[1S57]

Could Chris Grayling not ask Parliament to legislate to change this if he wanted to? “Pleading” with the railway companies to do it by themselves is hardly likely to fly when it isn’t in their financial interests to change IMO. I have little sympathy for him on this to be honest.

In fairness though, I saw him interviewed and a good point he made, I thought, was that if renationalisation happened things would not be “magically better.” He said that, if it happened, the rail network would be forced to compete for government funds with schools, hospitals, defence etc and would almost inevitably lose out.

As a little aside, I was pleased to see an RMT representative interviewed on Good Morning Britain today and really smiled when I realised I remembered seeing him interviewed on a BBC “Inside Out” documentary which I saw as a child. Turns out it aired in 1991! Definitely the same man though.

 

[infobleep]

No he isn't, he's saying it's the wrong way of calculating the rises and asking the rail companies to use a different measure. That's all. there's a lot to criticise Grayling for, this isn't one of those things. It's a sensible decision that will be welcomed by passengers.

Cash's response is, well, his typical Dave Spart out of touch with passengers type rhetoric.

What I'd like to know is why Chris Grayling didn't say this last year or any other years he's been Transport Secutary or perhaps he'd like to explain why he's only saying it now?