ANOTHER excessive and unaffordable increase in rail fares opens the new year, with the usual dishonest justification delivered in harmonised chorus by government and private train operating companies (TOCs).

TOCs don’t rely solely on milking passengers. They milk all of us, helping themselves to £46 billion in state subsidies over the past decade, with £4.2bn for 2016-17 the most recent handout to wealthy companies and their shareholders.

During that decade, the privateers raked in around £3.5bn in profits to spread among their shareholders and directors.