Revealed: Cheadle’s commuters have faced £220 ticket bombshell since 2019 as Lib Dems pledge to freeze rail fares

The Liberal Democrats have announced a manifesto commitment to freeze rail fares next year, saving commuters from £115 million in fare hikes across the country.

It comes as analysis by the party reveals rail season ticket holders in Cheadle have forked out an extra £220 in rail fares since 2019.

In Cheadle, a season ticket to Manchester now costs a whopping £1288, up from £1068 in 2019.

The Liberal Democrat proposals would save commuters in Cheadle an average of £40 next year. 

The policy, which would cost £115m next year, would be funded through a clampdown on tax avoidance and evasion. Uncollected taxes under the Conservatives currently stand at a staggering £35.8bn a year. 

These price rises come in the face of rising cancellations. A Liberal Democrat FOI has revealed that last year 55,829 rush hour trains were either partly or fully cancelled. This was a 10% rise on the previous year and the worst of any year since 2019.

The Liberal Democrats have said that passengers should not be paying more for a worse service and that commuters need to be protected from the Conservative party’s neglect of the railways through a price freeze on fares. Liberal Democrats have also pledged to reform the broken fares system by the end of the next parliament. 

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Cheadle, Tom Morrison said:

“We need to urgently freeze rail fairs. 

“Commuters across our community have borne the brunt of Conservative chaos, with the price of train tickets soaring whilst services have gotten worse. 

“During a cost of living crisis, it is disgraceful that everyday passengers are having to pay more for trains which are increasingly delayed or cancelled.

“That is why a vote for Cheadle’s Liberal Democrats is a vote to help commuters keep more of their hard-earned money.”