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Rail Fares and Franchises

In her introductory remarks, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside drew attention to the fact that rail passenger numbers are now at the level they were at in the 1940s. If the fares were so uncompetitive, clearly the train operating companies would have been unable to fill the gaps between the peaks, which is what they have done so successfully. I am sorry to have to disagree with my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough on that point, although I will argue that there is some link between regulated and unregulated fares anyway.