RAIL fares are set to soar in West Yorkshire.

Commuters on lines in and out of Huddersfield and other local stations are facing a near 10% hike in ticket prices next year – the highest rise in the country.

It means that the £1,124 annual rail fare from Huddersfield into Leeds and back could rise by more than £100.

Similar rises are expected on lines linking Wakefield, Bradford, Castleford or Dewsbury into Leeds.

WobblyRach was having none of it: “Fine. I’ll stop paying. Have fun chasing me.”

RogerB replied: “You won’t need to run at all. We went to Sheffield last week. The train stopped at Barnsley and was so packed the conductor didn’t even try collect the fares so about 50 plus got away for free.

“So instead of Metro hiking the fares why not try collecting what you could get for free?”

InTsticks saw a different side to the debate: “Joined up government, eh? This is how they encourage us out of our cars?

“The whole ‘green government’ thing is just a PR lie.”

whatyadoinsucka blamed the guards for fare problems: “If the guards actually did their jobs, fares could be collected, but the last few times I’ve travelled no one has been available to collect my fare.”

Rutland had a question: “Are the 12 additional carriages new rolling stock or some old stock that nobody else wants?

“Public transport has become an expensive nightmare since privatisation, as those running it think more about the shareholder than the passenger.”

SteveB added: “The major issue with who gets what rolling stock is that the Department for Transport micro-manages the national fleet.

“The government needs to decide whether it want the railways to be privatised – in which case let the commercial companies sort out their rolling stock requirements themselves – or government controlled, in which case buy the whole lot back into public ownership.

“The government seems to want to have its cake and eat it.”