The Leader podcast: Train ticket hacks and ‘passenger power’

Never mind the 12 days of Christmas, Britain’s facing eight days of rail strikes.

The government’s urging the RMT union to suspend industrial action, saying it will cost the UK economy in excess of £1.7 billion.

Now, the Elizabeth line could also be hit by its first strike as the TSSA union balloted members on Friday in a dispute over pay.

At the same time, MPs are probing the decision by Southeastern to axe more than 700 trains a week on rail services crucial for commuters.

The New Year will also heap misery on to passengers with annual ticket rises.

While on the Tube, TfL bosses are looking to fill a financial chasm by pumping up fares by 40 per cent in the next three-and-a-half years.

To analyse the latest on strikes, Christmas travel, fare increases and - hopefully - how to save a few pounds on train tickets, the Leader’s joined by Dr Tom Haines-Doran, author of Derailed: How to Fix Britain’s Broken Railways, and Evening Standard transport editor Ross Lydall.

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