The cost of travelling by train from Highbridge railway station to London is set to rise by up to 20 per cent next month.
From 6th September, First Great Western will introduce new restrictions on its cheapest off-peak return tickets for people travelling between the west country and London.
This means some customers will either have to travel later in the day or pay more for their journey, although off-peak single ticket prices will be reduced.
The price rises have been criticised by groups representing passengers, but First Great Western spokesman Dan Panes said the price rises were needed to achieve a more even spread of passengers throughout the day.
“One of our challenges is to balance the need to encourage more customers to use our services while generating more income and managing capacity on our busy trains,” he said.
Chris Irwin, the chairman of TravelWatch SouthWest, said: “We welcome the cut in the price of off-peak single tickets. But we deplore FirstGroup’s decision to restrict the availability of the cheapest turn-up-and-go return tickets. Hard-pressed passengers will be priced off the trains.”
