How can the train operators possibly justify yet another increase to rail passenger fares? It has become a grimly reliable annual ritual: every January the cost of travelling by train rises, imposing a significant extra burden on those who have no option but to use the rail network to get to work or otherwise. This year’s rise, an average of 2.7 per cent, may be a fraction lower than last year’s, but it is still well above the official Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation.
火车营运商如何能为铁路客运票价的再次上涨辩解？这已经成为一种常规的年度惯例：每年一月份乘火车旅行的费用都会上涨，这给那些利用铁路上班或者除了铁路别无其它出行方式的人带来了巨大的额外负担。今年的平均涨幅为2.7%，可能比去年略低，但仍远高于官方衡量通胀的消费者物价指数（CPI）。
Successive governments have permitted such increases on the grounds that the cost of investing in and running the rail network should be borne by those who use it, rather than the general taxpayer. Why, the argument goes, should a car-driving pensioner from Lincolnshire have to subsidise the daily commute of a stockbroker from Surrey? Equally there is a sense that the travails of commuters in the South East, many of whom will face among the biggest rises, have received too much attention compared to those who must endure the relatively poor infrastructure of the Midlands and the North.
历届政府都允许这种上调，理由是投资和运营铁路网的成本应由使用铁路网的人承担，而不是由一般纳税人承担。为什么呢？论点是这样的，一个从林肯郡开车领养老金的人必须补贴一个从萨里郡来的股票经纪人每天的通勤费用？同样，人们也感到，与那些必须忍受中部和北部相对落后的基础设施的人相比，东南部通勤者的痛苦受到了太多的关注，他们中的许多人将面临最大的上调。
However, over the past 12 months, those commuters have also experienced some of the worst rail strikes in years. It is all very well train operators trumpeting the improvements they are making to the network, but passengers should be able to expect a basic level of service for the substantial sums they are now paying to travel. The responsibility for the latest wave of strikes rests on the unions. However, there is a strong case that those who have been worst affected by industrial action should receive compensation for the disruption they have suffered.
然而，在过去12个月里，这些通勤者也经历了几年来最严重的铁路罢工。火车运营商大肆宣传他们正在对铁路网进行的改进是非常好的，但是乘客们应该能够期望他们现在支付的大笔旅行费用能达到基本的服务水平。工会对最近一波罢工负有责任。然而，有一个强有力的理由是，那些受工业行动影响最严重的人应该得到他们所遭受破坏的赔偿。
The Government has pledged to change the law to introduce a minimum service requirement so that, even when strikes occur, services can continue to operate. This should form part of a wider package of measures to address the long-running problems on Britain’s railways. Yes, more investment is needed, but passengers will not be willing to pay more indefinitely if they must also endure cramped, unreliable services, punctuated by regular chaos when timetables are changed, or planned maintenance is managed incompetently. The threat of nationalisation may have been seen off for now, but it will return with a vengeance if the justified anger of passengers is not addressed in short order.
政府已承诺修改法律，引入最低服务要求，以便即使发生罢工，服务仍能继续运作。这应该成为解决英国铁路长期问题的一揽子措施的一部分。是的，需要更多的投资，但如果乘客还必须忍受拥挤、不可靠的服务，在时刻表改变或计划维护管理不力时经常出现混乱，他们就不会愿意无限期地支付更多的费用。国有化的威胁目前或许已经被化解，但如果乘客的合理愤怒不能在短时间内得到解决，它将卷土重来。
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