Commuters In The South East Face The Most Expensive And Overcrowded Journeys

11.17.00am GMT Wed 2nd Jan 2008

On the day that travellers are hit by up to 14% rail fare increases, the Liberal Democrats have released figures highlighting the most expensive London commutes.

The research reveals that:

· Commuters from Redhill, Crawley, Dorking, Wokingham and Chatham face some of the most expensive journeys - paying more than 35p per mile for standard return tickets.

· 7 of the 10 most expensive routes have gone up in price by more than 8% since last year.

· Commuters travelling from Canterbury and Gillingham are facing a 9.7% and 11.1% respectively increase in their annual travel card fares.

· c2c passengers also have the least overcrowded trains in the South East with 0.8% of passengers in excess of capacity compared to 2.8% on Southern Railways and 8.2% over capacity on First Great Western.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker MP said:

"Commuters are returning to work only to face massive fare hikes and overcrowding. We already have the most expensive rail fares in Europe with rail travellers facing further inflation-busting price rises.

"Passengers are being forced off the railways because of hugely expensive tickets. This is yet another sign that the Government's rail policy is failing.

"Under Labour the cost of motoring has actually fallen, while the cost of using the trains has gone through the roof."