A PROTEST will be staged at Swindon Railway Station on Tuesday evening after it was announced that rail fares would increase by more than two per cent from the New Year.

This, the Action for Rail campaign has said, will result in rail commuters spending up to six times as much of their salaries on rail fares as European passengers on publicly owned railways.

UK workers on average salaries will spend 14 per cent of their income on a monthly season ticket from Luton to London (£387), or 11 per cent from Liverpool to Manchester (£292).

By contrast, similar commutes would cost passengers only two per cent of their incomes in France, three per cent in Germany and Italy, and four per cent in Spain.

The analysis also shows that rail fares have increased by 56 per cent since 2006, more than double the change in average earnings (24 per cent) and inflation (26 per cent).

Action for Rail, a campaign by rail unions and the TUC, point to the UK’s privatised rail service as a key driver of costs. All other countries examined have largely publicly-owned rail services and lower costs for commuters.

The campaign group will stage a protest at Swindon’s railway station on Tuesday from 5.30pm.

South West TUC regional secretary Nigel Costley said: “British commuters are forced to shell out far more on rail fares than others in Europe. Many will look with envy at the cheaper, publicly-owned services on the continent. Years of privatisation have left us with sky-high ticket prices, overcrowded trains and out-of-date infrastructure.”