What a way to run a railway...

I'll admit that I'm still hooked on the romance of trains. I'm not a train spotter, one class 47 locomotive looks very much like any other, but I enjoy train travel. The news over the past few days has rather depressed me though.

First, the fare increases. Now I'd be the first to accept that there is a case for investment in Britain's railways. However, given that I, along with my fellow citizens, pay more for my fares than my European counterparts, 6% plus is an awful lot to be asking for, especially when most of us will be lucky to get a third of that as our pay rises this year. And of course, that's just the minimum rise, with unregulated fares increasing by as much as 11%.

In their defence, Michael Roberts, of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said Monday's increases were partly because taxpayer funding was being reduced. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Fare changes this year will help pay for 265,000 extra services, all against a background which is determined by government policy to reduce the call on us as taxpayers."

The fare changes "actually in our view strike the right balance between trying to ensure a reasonable level of increase to fund in return much improved services," he added.

Now, that may be the argument, but why doesn't it appear to be borne out by the facts. As regulars readers know, I have the pleasure of using National Express East Anglia, who have recently removed the restaurant car service from their trains on the London to Norwich route. Is that a much improved service? I think not. Better still, they have now announced that, following a review of their operations, they are cutting 350 jobs in an attempt to enhance customer satisfaction and provide a better service. A better service with less people? Yes, and I'm a monkey's uncle...

Elsewhere, there are reports that hundreds of station ticket offices will close or reduce their opening hours. Passengers will have the alternative of using call centres or the Internet. How the elderly, those needing extension tickets or anyone who has difficulty in wading through the maze of fare structures and restrictions are meant to cope is beyond me. One might almost suspect that they really don't want ordinary people to ride on their trains.

Naturally, if off-peak passenger numbers fall, the Train Operating Companies will use that as an excuse to cut off-peak services. It is high time that Government uses its powers to demand a genuinely fair deal for passengers, and ensure that we get a better return on our investment. I do not see why we should enable private enterprises to make huge profits from an effective monopoly, and especially when it is taxpayer money that is used to maintain and upgrade key rail infrastructure.

The Conservatives have no right to whinge, as it was all their fault that we ended up with such a complicated structure, fit only for lawyers and accountants, that actually makes innovation and service enhancement more difficult than it was in the days of British Rail. And isn't that just saying something?

At least Norman Baker is getting rightly indignant about it...