News

The price for a return ticket between London and Folkestone Central has risen from £79.50 for 2007 to £87.00 in 2008.

Fares for all other tickets including standard fares have also seen above cost of living rises.

Southeastern's regulated fares, such as season tickets and standard returns will increase by an average of 6.8% but the company's average unregulated fare which includes cheap day returns increases by a comparatively modest 4.8%.

Blasting the rises, Shepway Lib Dem Council Group Leader Lynne Beaumont said: "Its an extraordinary price to pay for a still very ordinary service.

"Trains still take around 100 minutes to get to London - it's faster to get from London to Birmingham than London to Folkestone! We've still got almost 2 years to wait until high-speed services are introduced in December 2009 - but have to pay high fares now.

"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."