PROTESTERS will gather outside Carlisle railway station on Wednesday as an increase in rail fares on Britain’s railways is announced.

Activists and supporters of the RMT rail union will attend more than 30 stations across the UK, calling for a publicly owned and nationally integrated railway, which would allow extra revenue to be reinvested in the network and make fares affordable for all.

A protest will take place at Carlisle Railway Station between 6.30am and 9am.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT activists and supporters will be calling for our railways to be run as an affordable and accessible public service and not for private profit.

“Only 10 per cent of stations are fully staffed but yet UK passengers pay some of the highest fares in Europe.

“The increase announced this month will only serve to make the rail network less affordable and accessible for the travelling public. Privatisation is at odds with a sustainable rail network – we need a publicly owned and nationally integrated railway now.”