CHEEK FARES; Virgin's off-peak 'trick'.

Byline: MARK ELLIS 

VIRGIN Trains was yesterday accused of trying to sneak in fare rises by cutting off-peak travel and charging more for prime-time journeys.

The company will increase some fares by up to 6% from January - despite an announcement this week rises will average 1.1% across the whole rail network. But union leaders said Virgin will hit passengers with a "double whammy" by cutting off-peak travel by seven hours a week.

That will force many into buying the standard fares which are going up by 6%, while first-class tickets will rise by 4%. The Transport Salaried Staffs Association said it showed a 1.1% average fare cap by train operators was "misleading".

General secretary Gerry Doherty said: "This is an unjustified double whammy for passengers struggling through the recession." It means travellers will pay full fare coming to London before 11.30am or leaving before 9.25am.

In the afternoons, passengers will pay full from 15.01 to 18.45 as opposed to 15.15 to 18.31.

The union also said ticket office staff will strike from Friday over booking window closures, saying Virgin are trying to push more expensive tickets from staff with handheld machines.

Virgin Trains said change was needed to avoid overcrowding and "tickets bought by eight out of 10 people will be reduced or frozen".

CAPTION(S):

CUT Off-peak travel on train