Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Tim Yeo (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 6 March 2007 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Railways

Question: Passengers using Manningtree have suffered unreliable and overcrowded trains for the last three years. Insult was added to injury with the recent hefty increases in both fares and car parking charges. Does the Minister believe that adding £100 a month to the cost of commuting from Suffolk to London on a sub-standard service is a good way to encourage people to use the train?

Answer: I am aware of some of the performance issues that ““one”” has suffered in recent months. The hon. Gentleman will be glad to know that with car parking at Manningtree being oversubscribed, ““one”” is currently working on proposals to deck over the car park and make it a double-deck one. As far as rail fares are concerned, increases in regulated fares are restricted to inflation plus 1 per cent., while with non-regulated fares, it is up to the train operating companies to decide by how much they need to go up. If the hon. Gentleman is suggesting that more fares should be regulated, he will also have to suggest where that money is going to come from. If it is not to come from the rail payer, the only other source is the taxpayer.

Secondary information