Rail Rip-Offs: Yet More To Come

The Times reports that:

Passengers will lose out from a decision by train companies to stop giving refunds for tickets bought in advance and to double the fee for changes to journey times.

The move is part of what the companies are calling a simplification of rail fares into three main types, which they claim will be easier to understand. More than a million leaflets will be distributed at stations from today explaining the changes but they fail to mention that many passengers will be worse off under the new national refunds policy.

Given that the railways were only ever "privatised" on the understanding that their profits would be guaranteed by public subsidy, their shareholders have already been more than compensated enough for renationalisation to take place without further compensation.

The railways could then form the core of a national network of public transport, free at the point of use, including the re-opening of bus route and (where possible) rail line closures going back to the 1950s.

Or do we only ever have the money for wars and to rescue banks, both permanent commitments, whatever anyone might say to the contrary?