WEST Wiltshire residents and commuters will not feel the effects of the latest hikes in rail prices, according to the chairman of the TransWilts Partnership.

Paul Johnson said: “People think these national increases will affect everyone. Actually, our average prices throughout Wiltshire went down this year.”

Last week it was announced that from January 2019, rail prices will increase nationally by 3.4 per cent in line with the current retail price inflation rate.

Mr Johnson added: “This story arises every year when the RPI is announced and again in April when new fares are implemented. Electrification from Westbury to London is bringing faster journeys, times and new trains which will benefit commuters from 2019.”

He added that campaigners calls for the government to freeze rail fares and use a different measure of inflation, the Consumer Prices Index, to determine rail fare increases will only lead to lower levels of investment for areas in Wiltshire.

Community rail officer for TransWilts, Graham Ellis, believes that as the rail prices increases, so does investment.

He said: “I purposefully joined TransWilts to campaign for more trains to be running in areas like Westbury so people could have easy access on a regular basis.

“Now, we have several journeys running to and from larger cities such as London and Bristol which gives access to jobs.

“Trains from Westbury to London used to be in bleak supply, especially at weekends. Now there are lines that run every hour on Great Western Railway which means much easier accessiblity.”

He acknowledged the recent strike announcement by Southern Western Railway will have an affect on Westbury rail users.

He said: “Trains for Warminster and Westbury could see a 20-30 per cent increase in passengers over the next month, from passengers going from Salisbury to Bristol and Westbury to Yeovil whilst the strikes continue.”

Westbury’s deputy mayor, Michael Sutton, said the price increase is an outrage.

He said: “There may be more trains but they are overcrowded and often cancelled. Small journeys may not see an increase but residents travelling to Bristol and London will have to pay more.”