> Fares were 50% higher in Britain than on the continent
> Under 25 miles were 88% more expensive
> Four times more expensive than Italy
> "passengers cannot be expected to pay above-inflation fare during a recession"
Further research
With the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rising to 4.4 per cent, passengers will be faced with average season ticket fare rises of eight per cent.
"It is estimated it would cost taxpayers an extra £500m a year to bring UK commuter fares in line with these other European countries, which are more heavily subsidized". Lord Adonis said the government was committed to "sharing the cost of rail services fairly between taxpayers and passengers".
Madrid rail network
The year-old Barcelona-Madrid line has already taken 46% of the traffic – stealing most of it from fuel-guzzling, carbon-emitting aircraft. As the high-speed rail network spreads a web of tracks across Spain over the next decade, it threatens to relegate domestic air travel to a distant second place.
Previously the choice on the Madrid-Seville run was between a hot, tiring six-hour coach journey or an aircraft. Seventeen years later, only one traveller out of 10 takes the plane to Seville. The rest go by a train that is 99% punctual.
By 2020 Spain will have Europe's largest high-speed network, its 6,000 miles of track outgunning even France's TGV system. By then 90% of the population will be within 30 miles of a station. New lines have already been opened to Segovia, Valladolid and Malaga in the last 18 months. New links will eventually connect France and Portugal.
China high speed railway
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