HUHNE BACKS CAMPAIGN TO STOP SOUTH WEST TRAINS FARE INCREASE

10.23.22am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 8th May 2007

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne today backed the campaign to stop South West Trains' sky-high rail fare increases planned for 20th May.

Mr Huhne backed the PassengerFocus campaign to protest about plans that will see a cheap day return from Eastleigh to London go up by 20 per cent from £25 to £30.

Mr Huhne has written to the Secretary of State for Transport and the Rail Regulator urging them to reconsider the fare increases which he said "exploit a monopoly market".

He pointed out that the fare increases will only affect those stations like Eastleigh, Southampton Airport Parkway, Winchester and Southampton where South West Trains has a monopoly on the main London route.

Passenger Focus has pointed out that South West Trains is freezing the fares or raising them by just 1 per cent at Basingstoke and Reading where they compete with First Great Western on London routes.

Mr Huhne said that the Department of Transport had approved South West Trains plans for sharp fare increases when it received a ten-year franchise renewal in exchange for £1.2 billion paid to the Government. "This is using a monopoly position to levy a stealth tax" said Mr Huhne. He argued it was particularly unfair on part-time often women workers who could not buy a season ticket, but used cheap day returns.

South West Trains is putting up fares for previously off-peak travellers arriving in London between 10am and 12.49am by 20 per cent as it introduces peak, off-peak and super-off-peak tickets.

"South West Trains rail travellers are paying money to the Government just as assuredly as if they were paying their income tax: we now know that ministers sanctioned a sky-high fares rise in exchange for a payment to the exchequer.

"There can be no justification for making off-peak travellers pay so much more when the trains are far from full, and when there is no extra cost to carrying an extra passenger" said Mr Huhne.