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Abellio train at Chelmsford station in Greater_Anglia (Wikiphoto: Credit: Geoff Shepard)
British railway cross subsidy claims denied
Published: Wed, 2015-01-28 13:49-
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Accused for subsidizing foreign rail services
Dutch state-owned transport firm NS has received nearly € 920m so far in British government subventions to run several rail services in Britain, according to British media reports.
Travelers in Britain are annoyed at a 2.5 % train ticket price increase this year, and several papers have hinted that foreign rail operators such as NS subsidiary Abellio are cross-subsidizing their Dutch services.
Abellio runs Abellio Greater Anglia and, together with Serco, the Merseyrail and Northern Rail services. It has also just won the contract to provide rail services in Scotland.
British railroad clients spend more than twice the proportion of their income on train fares than passengers in the rest of Europe and British papers say they are effectively subsidizing foreign rail services.
According to the Daily Mail, an annual season ticket between Amsterdam and Leiden costs the equivalent of £2,100 but a London to Woking ticket – a similar distance – costs over £3,000. Denial However, the NS has denied it is cross-subsidising its Dutch services with British taxpayers money.
- This is not allowed and Abellio and NS’s cash flows are strictly separated, NS spokesman Eric Trinthamer told OV Magazine.
Source: NS Company
Av Markku Björkman
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