If true, this will have a devastating effect on passenger numbers, and a consequent effect on the railway. (Of course it could be a "scare" story, with them set to announce a rise of "just" 20% and then we all breathe easy!)
There seems to be a mindset in government (and not just this one, previous governments too) that railway passengers are a special case and outwith normal economic boundaries. You can charge them whatever you want, and they'll still pay and use the service.
Trying to price people off the railway so that you don't need to invest in new carriages and services hasn't worked in the past and won't work in the future, but that doesn't mean you can put up the prices without consequence.
So what will happen? Well, here's the great wheeze: less full-fare paying passengers means that there are more empty seats on the train. More empty seats means that the train companies can sell more discounted tickets, for which all the money goes into the TOC's pocket instead of being distributed around the various railway companies. This means that each privatised company will actually make more money, pleasing their shareholders.
And that's no way to run public transport.
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