A PUBLIC consultation into rail ticketing is essentially pointless without the renationalisation of the railways, the RMT said yesterday.

The rail industry is launching a consultation next month to find ways of simplifying the ticketing system, which will produce a report containing proposals for the government to consider.

Research by auditors KPMG showed that just one in three people surveyed were “very confident” they had bought the best-value ticket for their last rail journey. It recommended that ticketing should be transparent, easier to use and better integrated with other modes of transport.

But the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents private rail companies and Network Rail, said the industry’s suggestions will aim to be revenue-neutral, with no change in average fares and no extra support from taxpayers.

Rail companies claim they are already making improvements to fares by cutting jargon and providing clearer information about peak and off-peak times.

RDG chief executive Paul Plummer said the industry is committed to reforming “well-meaning but outdated” regulation such as requiring that all 2,500 stations in Britain must sell tickets to every other station, but he warned there are “no quick and easy solutions.”

Mr Plummer said the consultation, which starts on June 4, with a report expected in late autumn, would enable the rail industry to “create a clear road map with the country so that we can make the right changes for the long term more quickly.”

But RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “No-one trusts Britain’s rip-off private rail companies to do the right thing by passengers when it come to fares and ticketing.

“These are the same bunch of spivs who have hacked back on staffing levels and axed ticket offices in the name of profit.

“Until we get public ownership of our fragmented railways, they will always be seen as a cas‎h cow by the private operators.”

Passengers were slapped with a 3.6 per cent rise in season-ticket prices in January, though wages are forecast to grow by only 2.6 per cent this year, the equivalent of an average £694 a year increase on 2010 prices.