Rail fares are set to increase in the New Year, despite profit increases of the major rail companies.

Britain’s largest specialist transport union, the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT), has called for an end to the “great rail fares rip-off”. It has condemned the actions of rail privateers such as Arriva and First Great Western and has criticised the government for not investigating a public sector rail alternative.

According to the RMT, the Arriva Group reported operating profits up from £1.1 million to £14.8m in the six months ending 30 June, while the Go-Ahead Group saw its annual profits increase 16.8%.

Despite these high profits, the union anticipates that rail fares are likely to increase by an average 6% in the New Year, while some will increase up to 11%. Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said: “Passengers being told to fork out huge increases in fares and season tickets for overcrowded services have every reason to ask how the operators can rake off such huge amounts of their money as ‘profits’.

“The government has used huge sums of public money to prop up and nationalise failing banks, but when it comes to the railways there is more than enough evidence to show that bringing them back into the public sector would leave taxpayers and passengers better off.”

The RMT posed questions regarding the operation of rail passenger services in the public sector to the UK Transport Minister, Paul Clark. He commented: “The Government’s policy is that rail services are provided by the private sector to a specification developed in the public sector; therefore, no formal assessment has been made of the value for money of operating rail passenger services in the public sector.”

Rail fares are set to rise from Friday 2 January.