Rail travellers at eight local stations are being leafleted this Friday morning (9th January) in a protest at yet another rise in ticket prices.
The protest by local Green Party supporters has been organised to coincide with the second reading of a private members bill calling for the renationalisation of Britain’s rail network.
Alasdair Keddie from the South East Dorset Green Party said: “Britain has some of the highest railway ticket prices in Europe and they keep on going up.”
Figures from the Campaign for Better Transport show that while average wages are expected to have risen 6.9% over the course of this Parliament, fares have generally gone up by more than 20%.
Some of the big rail companies have paid out hundreds of millions in dividends since privatisation – while also claiming billions in subsidies for the services they run.
Alasdair, who lives in Charminster, added: “Some people are making a fortune from the railways but the money isn’t going to the taxpayer or the ordinary traveller.”
Over the last five years – following the Labour Government’s 2009 franchise fiasco – the East Coast mainline has returned nearly £1bn to the taxpayer, with passenger numbers going up and improved punctuality.
Yet the present Coalition Government recently announced plans to re-privatise the line, handing all the benefits back to private investors.
Which is why South East Dorset activists are backing Green MP Caroline Lucas’ bill to bring the railways back into public ownership and are encouraging local travellers to support their campaign.
Members of the local Green Party will be targeting Wareham, Hamworthy, Poole, Parkstone, Branksome, Bournemouth, Pokesdown and Christchurch stations on Friday morning between 6 and 9am.
“Renationalising the railways is Green Party policy,” said Alasdair, “and supported by 60% of people according to an independent YouGov survey, and opposed by only 20%. We’re going to be out there on Friday morning because we want change to bring about a better Britain with policies that are for the common good not the benefit of a few.”
