NXEA Now On Twitter

National Express East Anglia now has official Twitter account.  Follow them at @NXEastAnglia

Season Ticket Prices - How Much?

The Essex Rail Users Federation has compiled a table that shows the percentage of gross salary the new season ticket prices in north Essex will be.  If you would like a copy please email us at info@mrua.org

Fare Increases

It is worth pointing out that when the government announced the RPI +3 increase in rail fares the target inflation figure was 2%.  The fact that inflation is now at 5% has made the proposed increases ludicrous to put it mildly.  Surely the government should therefore use their target inflation rate of 2% rather than the actual rate of 5% which is hardly the fault of the hard pressed commuter?  Ok, 5% (inflation at 2% +3) is still a hefty increase but significantly better than the ridiculous figure of 8% that is proposed.

The Real Cost Of Commuting

We have done this exercise before but it is probably worth repeating just to emphasize the true cost of commuting.  

 

The following numbers are based on somebody paying 40% tax and the numbers in brackets are after the proposed 8% increase.

The cost of an annual season Manningtree <-> London - £4,600 (£4,968)

To pay for this you have to earn £7,666 (£8,280)

If you want to park at the station the cheapest way is by annual season which costs £1,057 which means you have to earn £1,753 to pay for it.

So for a person (paying 40% tax) to commute to London from Manningtree and park at the station they have to earn £9,419 (£10,033) just to cover their costs.  Bearing in mind the 40% tax threshold kicks in at £37,400 that can mean over 25% of salary needed just to pay to go to work!!

(The above calculations are approximate in that they don't take into account NI contributions and the vagaries of the tax system, but you get the gist)

Season Ticket Prices to Go Up by 8%

The government today confirmed the July RPI figure of 5%.  Season ticket prices are set to go up by RPI + 3 which means an increase of 8% in January.

Missed Connections At Manningtree - Please Note

Many will have been inconvenienced by missed connections to the Harwich branch at Manningtree caused by late running trains.  Of particular concern has been missed connections late at night when the station is no longer manned and the last Harwich train has left.

NXEA and Network Rail have now agreed that if the last connection is missed or is going to be missed, customers will be advised to travel to Ipswich where a taxi will be provided. This also means that staff will always be on hand to assist. 

Passengers should note that this arrangement will take a couple of weeks to implement fully but is certainly a step to be welcomed.