A VALE man who commutes to London from Evesham by rail on business each week has hit out at Thames Trains over a price hike in fares.

Michael Taite, of Elmley Castle has criticised the train operator, which is raising the cost of its day saver return from £27.70 to £31 from January.

The previous, lower fare also included an all-day London travel card, enabling Mr Taite, who visits London on business once or twice a week, to get around the capital by tube or bus without extra cost on the days he was there.

In addition to the increased price for travelling on the Hereford to Paddington train, which leaves Evesham at 8.06am, he will now have to buy a separate travel card for London for £5.10 or a zone one tube travel ticket at £3.20.

That means an overall increase of between £6.50 or £8.40, which Mr Taite, who runs a small marketing business, believes is excessive and a deterrent to people from the Vale trying to do business in London.

"Rather than pricing people off the roads, they're trying to price people off the trains," he said.

Jonathan Radley, communications manager with Thames Trains, explained that the price increase and change in conditions of use for the ticket was part of standardisation of fares along the Hereford to Paddington line.

"The basic thing here is that cheap day return tickets will no longer be valid on that train," he said, "Normally, cheap day return tickets are not available on a train that arrives in Paddington after 10am.

They have been available on the 7.03am from Hereford but the restrictions on that particular train are going to be standardised."

Mr Taite said: "It doesn't matter why they're increasing it. It doesn't matter whether they call it an increase or a standardisation: it amounts to the same thing."