Outrageous 3.1% increase in rail fares planned for January

It has been announced today that rail fares will increase by 3.1% in January.

Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are opposing this rise and have been calling for a fares to be frozen, you can sign and share our petition calling to freeze fares here: www.bedfordlibdems.org.uk/freezefares

This is even more important to commuters locally, considering the problems faced by rail users in Bedford Borough which include:

• The removal of all fast intercity peak time services to London in the morning and from London in the evening for at least two years.
• The failure of the new Thameslink timetables, which have caused daily misery since the first attempt to introduce them in May.
• The decision by the Government to almost entirely remove Bedford from its historic place on intercity rail network under the next East Midlands rail franchise, starting in 2019.

There is absolutely no case for local rail users to pay higher fares, when by any measure they are suffering worse services. Bedford Borough rail users have been failed by the train operating companies and by the Government, and the misery is ongoing. That's why the Government must step in, reverse the planned fares increase and announce a freeze immediately.