Essex rail commuters face price hikes
2 January 2019, 07:32 | Updated: 2 January 2019, 07:34
Travelling by train in Essex just got more expensive.
Rail fares have increased by an average of 3.1 per cent from today.
It means the cost of an annual season ticket between Colchester and London Liverpool Street has risen by £158.
A 12-month season ticket between Chelmsford and London is £123 pricier than a year ago.
"I think it's an insult," Aaron Phillips, founder of the Anglia Rail Users group, told Heart.
"I feel it's completely unfair that these costs are being passed on to the commuters when they're running such a poor service with constant cancellations and delays."
He doesn't think improvement works justify the increase in fares either.
"They are increasing the fares to cover their costs, when actually they should be saying, 'We are sorry and here you go customers, we are going to absorb some of those costs by way of recognising the pain and frustration that you've been through'."
The rail industry says 98p in every pound spent on tickets is reinvested into the network.
