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DOUBLE MISERY

Rail passengers set to be hit with fare hikes next week as strike chaos cripples networks

Just a quarter of commuters are happy with current services, but that won't stop rail companies upping their prices

Crowds at Clapham Junction

LONG-suffering rail commuters face a double dose of misery – with a hike in fares on top of disrupted services.

Train companies will slap an extra £40 on the price of an average annual season ticket despite crowded carriages and strike chaos.

 Commuters are set to see a price increase, despite already overcrowded carriages and strike chaos
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Commuters are set to see a price increase, despite already overcrowded carriages and strike chaosCredit: i-Images Picture Agency

A rise of about 1.5 per cent, expected to be announced next week, will come into force in January and affect 1.7 billion rail journeys.

Fares are set to go up as customer satisfaction with railways plummets, a study shows.

Just one in four passengers is happy with current services, according to a tracker survey by consumer champion Which?

 Just one in four people is currently happy with rail services, and a further third don't trust them
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Just one in four people is currently happy with rail services, and a further third don't trust themCredit: EPA

A further third of people don’t trust the railways - quite understandable since one in five Southern rail services are delayed or cancelled even after the launch of a reduced timetable, the analysis found.

In the three weeks after the emergency timetable was introduced, a fifth of weekday services were disrupted – 314 delayed and 67 cancelled out of 1,917 per day.

In addition, 108 rail services each day faced delays of between 10 and 29 minutes - up from 63 last year.

Which? is urging the government to make the rail regulator implement a compensation system that ensures passengers hit by persistent short delays can claim compensation.

 Which found that a fifth of weekday services are either disrupted or delayed
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Which found that a fifth of weekday services are either disrupted or delayedCredit: London News Pictures

Campaign chief Alex Neill said: “The extreme disruption experienced by Southern passengers highlights a summer of discontent.

“Passengers shouldn’t have to deal with persistent poor service, disruptions and inadequate compensation for their journeys.

“It is little wonder that trust in the rail industry is falling.

“The government must hold the industry to account by ensuring that passengers’ complaints are properly heard and where things go wrong they are put right promptly.”