Train tickets are set to be slashed by as much as half as the Government looks to address cost-of-living pressures with cheaper travel in April and May.
However, Andy Burnham has pointed out the price of a train ticket that will leave egg on the government’s face.
In what is being dubbed the Great British Rail Sale, the Transport Secretary said more than one million train tickets would be reduced this spring.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is hoping the move will help hard-pressed households, facing rising bills and soaring inflation, to afford trips across the UK and boost domestic tourism.
As you can see from this cringe Shapps video (see below) to launch the project, the plan was to try and bring the cost down.
In a statement Mr Shapps said: “For the first time ever, operators across the rail industry are coming together to help passengers facing rising costs of living by offering up to 50% off more than a million tickets on journeys across Britain.
“There’s no better time to visit friends, family or just explore our great country, so book your tickets today.”
Labour’s shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said the discounts this spring will be “small comfort to passengers” after years of “soaring fares”.
“A decade of brutal Tory fare hikes have priced people off our railways,” she said.
“This temporary respite will be small comfort to passengers who had thousands taken out of their pockets from soaring fares since 2010.
“And the decision to end the sale just before half-term will mean many families face the same punishing costs over the holidays.
“Working people are facing the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, and the Conservatives have chosen to hike up taxes and reject a windfall tax on the soaring profits of oil and gas giants.
“Labour would help working people – with a fully-funded plan to cut up to £600 off of household bills.”
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Burnham
In response, Andy Burnham pointed out the astronomical prices of train tickets on Twitter. He shared a screenshot of £369.40 return ticket from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston for Monday morning.
Burnham then went even further and compared this train ticket price with the cost of travelling from Manchester to places like India, Jamaica, Brazil and the Ivory Coast. One assumes he means using an aircraft…
Related: Shapps dons shades in cringe ‘Great British rail sale’ promo