MILLIONS of pounds spent by passengers on rail fares in the first year of the pandemic went into the pockets of private train operators, a report said today.

The latest figures quietly published by the Department for Transport (DfT) show that from March 2020-March 2021, private rail companies in England received £154 million in fees.

The fees were paid to operators to keep trains running as part of the government’s “emergency measures agreements” after millions of workers were told to stay at home during the pandemic.

The RMT union said that the figures amount to seven pence in every pound being handed to privateers.

But the union accused the government of still subjecting rail staff — who were praised as “key workers” during the crisis — to a pay freeze, and hiking up fares for long-suffering passengers.

RMT said that the cash paid out in fees could easily have funded a pay rise in line with inflation for rail workers, with millions left over to invest in improving the rail network and better services for passengers.

The union’s general secretary Mick Lynch said: “It is nothing short of a scandal that for the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government handed the private rail operators fees which can be used to fund profits equivalent to nearly 7p of every pound spent by rail passengers during the same period.

“These payments include nearly £16m for disgraced operator Southeastern that has since been stripped of the franchise due to a serious contract breach.

“This pandemic profiteering has happened while rail workers have faced pay freezes and passengers fare hikes. 

“If the government is serious about meeting its climate change targets then it needs to end the private profiteering scandal of our railways. 

“Rather than handing millions to fund the profits of the big business operators, the government should be investing in its key worker staff and in improving and expanding the rail network.

“We need a sustainable, affordable and accessible rail network that that works for passengers, not profit. 

“That’s why, next week, RMT will be protesting outside the Department for Transport as the government hosts an event for the private operators.”