British railways the most expensive in Europe

1.50.25am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 27th Jan 2006

In response to reports this week that the Department of Transport may be considering abolishing many 'saver' tickets, figures released by the Liberal Democrats have confirmed that Britain's railways are already the most expensive in Europe.

Ten pounds will get you over 300 miles in Slovakia, over 200 in Italy, but a measly 38 miles in Britain. Passengers can travel over three times the distance in France as in Britain.

Commenting, Northgate Councillor Gordon Seekings said "Ten pounds from Crawley. Ifield or Three Bridges Stations will barely take you from Crawley to the other side of West Sussex or Surrey or East Sussex, whereas in Europe it takes you to the next country."

Tom Brake MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, said "The Government's transport policy is failing. It is creating ever more prohibitively expensive rail fares and we can hardly be surprised that people are not choosing to get out of their cars and let the train take the strain."

Tom went on to say "If fares continue rising like they are nobody will be able to travel by train in Britain unless they have won the Euro Lottery."