BRITAIN’S creaking rail network has seen trains delayed by 259 years in a decade.
Services have been late for a total of 136million minutes since 2014 and 15,499,548 in the last year — more than 30 years.
Despite all the hold-ups, fares have risen by 34.3 per cent on average during the same period, according to the Rail Delivery Group.
An annual season ticket between Reading and London has gone from £4,088 to £5,600, and a Portsmouth to London one from £4,308 to £5,896.
The data was released after a request by Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe and comes ahead of another inflation-busting fares rise in March.
Bruce Williamson, of campaign group Railfuture, said: “It’s very frustrating for passengers who want an affordable and not overcrowded railway that gets them from A to B reliably. They are not getting a better service but they are paying more for it.
“Under British Rail, the railways were starved of investment for decades. We are still paying the price with clapped-out rolling stock and a lack of electrified lines.
“At the same time, the Government has billions to keep a freeze in fuel duty for motorists — but nothing for a more environmentally-friendly form of travel.”
The Department for Transport said the figures were unacceptable and showed Britain’s railways were not fit for purpose.
A spokesman promised the “biggest overhaul in a generation” as the railways return to public ownership.
He said it would “end years of waste and fragmentation”, bringing together track and train for “reliable and high-quality services alongside simpler ticketing and fares”.
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