Vince Cable

Last week local commuters faced rail fare increases when they returned to work, some substantial. One Teddington resident reports a 36% fare increase - costing him £300 a year - because in addition to the standard fare increases there is a 'rationalisation' of Zone 6 rail fares (which includes the local stations beyond Twickenham). Vincent Cable MP has taken up the Zone 6 increase with SW Trains describing the increase as "totally unreasonable. The tidy minds who wanted a uniform fare throughout the system appear not to have appreciated that such a sudden increase is a big hit for many passengers."

Vincent Cable has, however, been told by SW Trains that there will be additional capacity from April/May: two more morning, peak hour, Windsor line services will be converted from four to eight carriages, easing over crowding; similarly, six more long trains in the evening on the Hounslow loop line; with a change in trains to a make with bigger carriages on the Reading line. Vincent Cable said: "These positive developments go some way to offset the cutback in the number of seats which SW Trains are making on their main suburban services in order to fit in more passengers with greater standing room. It doesn't, however, fundamentally change the story that in the next decade SW Trains plans to carry 20% more passengers without any significant net increase in seats."