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Local travellers will be hit twice; once by missing out on a fares cut, and again by paying for the most expensive rail fares across the globe.

Dr Hazel Dawe, Chair of Kent Green Party, and a rail commuter herself, comments: "So now its official. We have the highest rail fares in the world. And in Kent we will not even benefit by the rail fares cut caused by the drop in inflation.

"The botched privatization of our railways has not brought the consumer benefits we were promised. Kent's traffic congestion is a testament to the high cost of rail and bus fares and a general failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"We desperately need a new Kent Local Transport Plan to cut congestion and air pollution. It should focus on creating a road user hierarchy walking, cycling, buses first to encourage more people to use their cars less. But for a lot of journeys, cheaper rail services are essential.

Over 10 years of talk by Government about 'sustainable' transport has been accompanied by under-investment in our railways."