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A rail company has been heavily criticised for charging people 25p to use a water fountain at London’s Marylebone station.
Chiltern Railways, which operates services between the capital and the Midlands through the Chiltern Valley, announced a new water refill station in partnership with supplier Ape2o on Saturday (10/8), boasting that there would be “no more scratching around for a drink”.
But the move has been heavily criticised by people on social media.
Chris Hopkins pointed out that the company is already charging “extortionate ticket prices”, while others questioned why they are profiteering on the back of customers obtaining tap water.
Others pointed out that several other London stations provide free tap water.
Refill London has developed 5,000 water refill stations across the capital, all of which are free to use.
Chiltern Railways confirmed on social media that 10 per cent of the profits from the tap water fountain will be donated to charity.
The company that supplies the water stations claims the donations go towards “marine and freshwater conservation and clean-ups”.
We Own It, a campaign group calling for services like water, railways and energy to be brought into public ownership, criticised asking people to pay for water on “one of the hottest days of the year so far”, referring to the heatwave that gripped London and much of the UK in early August.
“This shows what we already know about the privatisation of the railway, it’s profit-oriented rather than people-focused,” a spokesperson for the group told the Big Issue.
“Under the privatisation of our railway, the question private companies ask is, ‘How can we make the most profits?’ Under public ownership, those in charge of our railway are more likely to ask, ‘How do we make the railway conducive to the needs of our communities?’
“In a people-focused railway system under public ownership, we would be talking about rolling out water fountains accessed freely across train stations, rather than asking people to pay for water on one of the hottest days of the year so far.”
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