Passenger outrage at Virgin Trains handout

The Rail Passengers Council has reacted with outrage to a £106m government handout to Virgin Trains, describing the payment to one of Britain's worst performing train operators as "deeply worrying" and demanding a public inquiry.

The council, which has a consultative role enshrined in law, has complained that it is being kept in the dark about key decisions. It revealed yesterday that it received 6,641 complaints about train operators last year, with grievances up by a third in some regions.

Stewart Francis, chairman of the RPC, said the payment to Virgin Trains "raises many more questions than it answers". The government's strategic rail authority handed over the money as compensation for delays in Railtrack's upgrade programme on the west coast mainline, which have delayed Virgin's trains.

He asked: "What is the passenger benefit being purchased here?"

He complained that details of the deal had been covered up "under the guise of commercial confidentiality". If the transport secretary, Alistair Darling, declines his request for a public inquiry, Mr Francis will use the council's statutory powers to investigate.

The RPC is also upset at a consultation document last week in which the strategic rail authority backed higher fares for commuter trains around London as a way to reduce overcrowding. Rail passengers have the right to complain to the council if they feel train operators have failed to deal with grievances adequately. The council revealed yesterday that complaints soared by 34% in eastern England and by 31% in Wales.

The company featuring in the most complaints was Virgin CrossCountry, with 995 last year. Virgin West Coast was second with 961. Commuter network c2c saw the biggest rise, with complaints up 182%, while Anglia's figure rose by 46%.

Mr Francis said it had been a "gloomy" year for rail passengers, lamenting "indifferent performances, strikes, broken promises on new train delivery and the increasing awareness of the amount of money and effort being wasted on the west coast black hole".

However, a better performance from rail operators in the Midlands and southern England meant the number of complaints nationwide rose by a modest 4%.

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said this was not too bad, given disruption following the Hatfield train crash and the government's decision to put Railtrack in administration.

The council also warned that Britain was in danger of losing affordable "turn up and go" train tickets, which have soared in price since privatisation. Mr Francis cited Virgin's open return ticket from London to Manchester, which has risen by 75% in four years.

The transport minister, John Spellar, promised to address the council's call for a public inquiry.