THE TRANSPORT SECRETARY has suggested to a committee of MPs that railways are only affordable, in the main, by people who are better off, prompting immediate protests.
Philip Hammond was giving evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee inquiry into High Speed 2, when he was questioned about the likely level of fares.
Labour MP Julie Hilling wondered whether HS2 would become a 'rich person's toy', which would not be available to 'people of low or moderate means', to which he replied: "Uncomfortable fact number one is that the railway is already relatively a rich man's toy.
"People who use the railway on average have significantly higher incomes than the population as a whole – simple fact."
He added that it was assumed that travelling on the new High Speed line would cost about the same as the West Coast Main Line, "which I have said before ranges from eye-wateringly expensive to really quite reasonable, if you dig around and use the advance purchase ticket options that are available".
Mr Hammond later conceded to reporters that he had, perhaps, dealt with the question 'slightly flippantly'.
Stephen Joseph of the Campaign for Better Transport said: "Far from being simply 'a rich man's toy', trains are also vital for many of those on more moderate incomes who need to get to work, and the government will price many off the railways if it carries on with its plan to increases rail fares at three per cent above inflation."
Virgin Trains responded to Mr Hammond's description of some of its fares as 'eye-watering' by pointing out that its passenger numbers have been rising, "so we must be doing something right", said a spokesman.
VT added that its average fare was £26. "We don't run a railway for the rich, and in that we are no different to any other operator," the spokesman continued.
ATOC said the average fare charged on the network as a whole, including local and commuter travel, was lower still.
"We get millions of passengers from A to B every day – people from all backgrounds who travel on a range of different tickets. The average price paid for a single journey comes in at around £5 and the sale of cheap Advance tickets has doubled in the last few years, with almost a million sold every week," said a spokesman.
"The Secretary of State is right to point out that the benefits of rail are felt well beyond the people who travel by train. The nation's railways support jobs and businesses and play a key role in the British economy."
But Mr Hammond's remarks have come only a few weeks since an average rise of 8 per cent was announced for January. The government has confirmed that the cap on regulated fare increases will rise from RPI +1 per cent to RPI + 3 per cent for the next three years, as part of its policy to shift more of the cost of the railway from taxpayers to passengers.
Mr Hammond is also due to give his verdict soon on Sir Roy McNulty's 'Value for Money' report, which was published in May and set out potential rail savings of £1 billion a year by 2019.
However some of his suggestions, such as cutting the number of conductors and station staff, have been met by opposition, particularly from the rail unions.