Transport campaigners warned that some passengers are being “priced off the railways” as the latest ticket price hike was revealed.
Fares will go up by an average of 2.3% next year – the largest rise in three years – with travellers already hit by a 23.5% increase in real terms between 1995 and 2016.
The figure is the average increase across all rail tickets and will take effect from January 2.
Lianna Etkind, of the Campaign for Better Transport, condemned the increase, warning that some passengers are “finding themselves priced off the railways.”
She said: “The train operating companies and the Government need to work closely together to provide fairer, simpler and cheaper fares making sure people are always sold the cheapest ticket available.
“Between 1995 and 2016 passengers have seen average fares increase by 23.5% and much more needs to be done by train operators and the Government to give them a truly affordable railway.”
Ms Etkind accused the Government of “dragging its feet” over the introduction of flexible season tickets with “fair discounts” for the eight million part-time workers across the UK.
“It is not right that part-time workers have to buy expensive one-off tickets, or season tickets which they then waste on the days they don’t work,” she said.
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, said: “We understand how passengers feel when fares go up, and we know that in some places they haven’t always got the service they pay for.
“Around 97p in every pound passengers pay goes back into running and improving services.
“Fares are influenced by Government policy, either through Government-regulated fares such as season tickets or as a result of the payments train companies make to Government.
“This money helps Government to support the biggest investment in our railway since Victorian times.”
Rail minister Paul Maynard claimed the burden of paying for investment in the network is “fairly balanced” between taxpayers and passengers.
Mr Maynard defended the rise, saying that wages are growing faster than ticket prices and the Government is investing over £40 billion into the railways.
He continued: “We are delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century, providing more seats and services, wi-fi and air conditioning. We have always fairly balanced the cost of this investment between the taxpayer and the passenger.”
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said they “understand how passengers feel when fares go up” and accepted that in some areas they “haven’t always got the service they pay for.”
