Rail fare rises are unpopular but that doesn’t make them wrong

As is traditional, the new year begins with harrumphing. Railway users appear appalled by the suggestion they pay a greater share of the cost of their journey. The current formula for determining railway fares, introduced by the last Labour government a decade ago, was designed to offer a better deal to the majority of citizens while asking those who benefit from trains – the wealthy, on the whole – to pay a little more. 

So you can see why this is unpopular and the kind of thing designed to provoke a run on torches and pitchforks all across suburban England. The wealthy always dislike being asked to pay more; their ability to cause a fuss about this is one of the reasons they are wealthy. 

Nevertheless, trains are – overwhelmingly – a middle-class mode of transport. There is nothing disagreeable about this. Half the country is middle class these days. Nevertheless, it remains the case that commuters travelling by national rail are, as a general rule, wealthier than the average citizen.