Liberal Democrats call for inquiry into rail fares

4.40.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 23rd Jul 2007

Train

New research from the Liberal Democrats reveals that the most expensive train companies in Britain charge more than four times as much per mile as the cheapest. The figures have been released ahead of the announcement of the government's new rail strategy expected today. Research reveals:

· £10 takes you 118 miles on Merseyrail with a standard saver return, but only 27 miles on the Heathrow Express

· Excluding airport shuttle services, the most expensive company is Hull Trains, taking you just 49 miles for £10 on a saver return

· On average, open single fares are twice the price per mile of saver return fares.

There is clearly a huge price disparity between the cheapest and most expensive fares. There should be an urgent inquiry into the cost of unregulated fares, to stop passengers paying even more per mile in the future. How do ministers expect to get people out of their cars and onto public transport when using the railways is so expensive?