RAIL workers questioned what planet Tory Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris is living on after he claimed today that train fares are “not bad value.”

In a Commons debate, Mr Heaton-Harris said that 98p of every £1 spent on tickets was reinvested in Britain’s railway network.

He was responding to Labour shadow transport minister Andy McDonald, who pointed out: “Earlier this month, UK rail passengers were hit with yet another above-inflation fare rise.

“Fares are now up by 40 per cent since 2010, having risen at twice the rate of wages.

“In contrast, in Germany fares were cut by 10 per cent at the start of this year to encourage more people to travel by train in order to cut emissions.

“We [the Labour Party], of course, pledged to reduce fares by 33 per cent.

“Shouldn’t the British government follow the example of our European friends and consider a fare cut to boost rail travel, rather than imposing yet another fare hike?”

Mr Heaton-Harris replied: “This government caps around 45 per cent of all rail fares, including most season tickets, to protect passengers that rely on the railway from high fares.

“Of every £1 spent on fares, 98p goes back into our railways. That is an investment in our rail. They are actually not bad value for money.”

Mr McDonald called the comments a “curious interpretation” of commuters’ experiences on the railway.

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan told the Morning Star: “On what planet is Chris Heaton-Harris living?

“I know he is a wealthy man who does not live in the real world, but I wonder if his constituents in Daventry agree with him?

“Because many of them, like most passengers when asked, are utterly fed up with the rip-off fares demanded by his chums at the privatised train-operating companies.

“I think, at his next constituency surgery, he may well regret his bizarre intervention when a few realities are spelt out to him by angry voters who actually have to pay for their tickets and put up with old rolling stock, overcrowded trains and delayed and cancelled services.”

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “When the rail minister is so out of touch with the reality of Britain’s rip-off railways the alarm bells will be ringing for passengers the length and breadth of the country. 

“This Government has tried to spin the line that they are on the side of hard pressed workers. Nothing could be further from the truth.”