Commuters to face £1,400 fare rise on Javelins

COMMUTERS on a new high-speed rail link into London could face fare increases of nearly £1,400 a year it emerged today as the train made its debut journey into the capital.

The 140mph Javelin train travelled from Ashford to StPancras but its inaugural run was marred by protests over sky-high fares.

The new link will slash journey times between Ashford and London by more than half - down from 83minutes to 37 minutes - but at huge cost to passengers.

A yearly season ticket could cost £5,358 - a £1,389 premium on other fares - from January 2010. A standard return would cost £67.55.

Brian Cooke, the former chairman of rail watchdog TravelWatch, warned that the Javelin service could turn into a "damp squib for commuters" because the fares are too high.

But transport minister Lord Adonis, who was on the Javelin's debut run, said: "These trains will transform the journeys of large numbers of rail passengers."

The operator, Southeastern -which is owned by transport giant Go-Via - said final fares for the service were not yet known.

Lord Adonis refused to be drawn on the cost to passengers after travelling on the train. He said it would be up to Southeastern to set a "commercial level which will attract customers to a premium service".

The high-speed line cost a "great deal of money and it is only fair that those who benefit from it pay for it". The minister said the new service would provide a "dramatic change" for many passengers across Kent.

"I have just taken 37 minutes this morning to travel from Ashford to St Pancras International - that is under half the time of the old journey between Ashford and London of 83minutes," he added.

Sharon Grant, chairwoman of TravelWatch, said she had "concerns" over the new fare levels, as would many people "particularly in the current economic climate". The train twice reached its maximum speed of 140mph on its London-bound journey today.

Darryl Evans, 42, a driver-manager who has frequently taken the controls during testing, described the train as "fantastic... incredibly smooth". He added: "It is as far away from the old bone-shakers as it is possible to get."

Charles Horton, Southeastern's managing director, said: "This is a huge step forward and gives thousands of our passengers a whole new range of choices about where they live, how they travel to work and how they link up with rail connections to other parts of the country and the Continent."

Fast forward: the 140mph Javelin train made its inaugural run today from Ashford to St Pancras. It will cut journey times from 83 minutes to 37 from next December.