Commuters unhappy over 'random' travelcard price rise to London

Commuters have hit out at a ‘random’ price rise in the cost of peak and off-peak travelcards from Maidenhead to London.

Passengers travelling on Great Western Railway trains to the capital recently spotted there has been a small increase in their fares.

Maidenhead resident Callum Jamieson, who commutes into London Paddington, said his off-peak travelcard for Zone 1-6 has increased from £12.50 to £12.70.

This followed a 3.8 per cent increase in March as part of the Government’s annual fare rises.

Callum told the Advertiser: “The rise isn’t really the annoying thing, it’s just how random it was.

“You expect it once a year but not just randomly on a week day.”

He added: “The more frustrating thing is before COVID there were a lot more trains to and from London but it hasn’t returned to anywhere near what it was.

“In the morning the trains are packed but they are still putting the prices up – that’s the bit that’s more annoying.”

A spokesman for Great Western Railway confirmed the price of peak and off-peak travelcards has been increased.

The company said this is because commuters from Maidenhead have been able to get a travelcard added on to their ticket for a cheaper rate than other areas for some time.

A statement said: “The increase was to peak and off-peak travelcard fares only. The off-peak/peak day return remains unchanged but the Travelcard price has increased.

“This is so that we can offer a consistent travelcard add-on across all our London flows of an extra £7.50 for a peak travelcard to London.

 “The £7.50 charge is still however a considerable discount on the £14.10 PAYG cap for zones 1-6.”