A TRAIN fare between two stations seven miles apart is one of the most expensive in the country.
The single journey from Marsden to Greenfield in Greater Manchester costs a whopping £4.80.
The fare is considerably higher than the cost of the single trip from Marsden to Huddersfield at £1.70 and only 10p less than a return trip from Marsden to Leeds at £4.90.
The fare for the trip through the Standedge rail tunnel is believed to be one of Britain’s most expensive fares per mile.
The equivalent journey in a car running on diesel fuel and averaging 45 miles per gallon would cost just over 70p.
Northern Rail, which runs local train services between Manchester and Huddersfield, say the reason why the Marsden-Greenfield journey costs almost three times as much is because travellers cross two rail zones, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.
But Mr Potts, of Marsden, who paid the £4.80 fare on September 4, says this is irrelevant as Northern Rail operate services which span both zones.
Mr Potts said: “I personally fail to see the relevance of this ethos. As a taxpayer who presumably contributes in some way to the subsidy of a company such as Northern Rail, I object to a fares policy that deters travellers from using public transport, rather than encouraging it!”
Colne Valley councillor and Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate said: “It’s a complete rip-off. Rail prices really infuriate me.
“The whole thing is upside down. We have the highest train fares in Europe. We need to get serious about public transport.”
A spokesman for Northern Rail said: “We are very aware of the issues raised by commuters travelling from Greenfield and Marsden.
“We set the fares for some journeys on the route and some tickets are set by other train operators or they are products that are priced by the Passenger Transport Executives.
“We want to encourage as many people as possible to use our services from Marsden and Greenfield and we will continue offer affordable fares from both stations and address anomalies where we are able to do so.”
