The railways are becoming the preserve of the rich, after train companies announced fare increases above the rate of inflation for the fourth year running, the national passenger watchdog said yesterday.

Passengers will pay up to 11 per cent more from January 2, with those unable to book in advance bearing the brunt of the increases. Most season tickets and off-peak tickets, prices for which are set by the Government, will rise by 4.3 per cent, 1 per cent above inflation.

Passenger Focus said that the Government was largely to blame because it set the overall strategy for the railways and was increasing payments for the right to operate franchises. Four companies have each agreed to pay more than £1 billion to the Department for Transport over the next ten years.

The total amount paid each year by passengers has doubled to £4.5 billion since privatisation a decade ago. Subsidy has also soared to record levels, with the taxpayer contributing more than £6 billion this year, four times what British Rail received.

Passengers in Kent will pay the highest increases, with season tickets rising by 6.3 per cent and standard day returns rising by up to 11.1 per cent.

First Great Western is raising fares for the second time in a year on services between London, the West Country and South Wales. After the 6 per cent increases First Great Western imposed in June, standard open returns will rise by another 6 per cent in January.

Virgin is increasing its standard open return from London to Manchester by 8.4 per cent, more than double the rate of inflation. This means passengers will be paying £50 an hour for the journey.

The standard open return is the only ticket available on the day for several hours when trains are busiest.

A recent Department for Transport study found that people on higher incomes were twice as likely to use trains. Only 40 per cent of those earning less than £13,500 made a train journey last year, compared with 77 per cent earning more than £31,200.

Anthony Smith, the chief executive of Passenger Focus, said: “The network is becoming a rich man’s railway. Many families can no longer afford to travel by train unless they are super-organised about booking tickets and have a railcard.”

He predicted that next year the train companies would place more restrictions on when saver tickets could be used. The price of savers is usually less than half the cost of a standard open return.

Passenger Focus also accused train companies of breaching their own rules by introducing the increases immediately, instead of using the old prices for journeys if they were booked before Christmas Eve.

The Association of Train Operating Companies said that fare increases were needed to pay for improvements such as the refurbishment of First Great Western’s 30-year-old 125mph trains, and for thousands of CCTV cameras.

Punctuality rose to 89.5 per cent in the six months to September 30, helped partly by lengthening published journey times by a few minutes.

Chris Grayling, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said: “We have inflation-busting fare increases at a time when trains are becoming more and more overcrowded, and absolutely nothing is being done to tackle the problem.”

London to Manchester: cost of a Virgin standard open return

1997: £108

Jan2, 2007: £219

See also:

New Year rail fares set to rocket

Press Association: November 28, 2006

Millions of rail passengers will face above-inflation fare rises in the new year, with some tickets going up more than 7%, it has been announced.

Regulated fares, comprising season tickets and saver fares, will rise 4.3% on average from January 2. Unregulated fares, which represent about 60% of total fares, will be going up by an average of 4.7%.

Unregulated fares on the both the Gatwick Express and the Heathrow Express will be rising an average of 7.3%, while unregulated fares on Virgin West Coast will be increasing by an average of 6.6%, the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) announced.

There will also be big rises for commuters on the Southeastern franchise, where a special agreement means an average rise in regulated fares of 6.3%. A cheap day return from London to Canterbury on Southeastern is rising 6% - from the current £18.40 to £19.50, while a standard day return on the same route is increasing 11.1% from £19.90 to £22.10.

Atoc director-general George Muir said: "While no-one likes to pay more for their travel, we need the revenue to pay for the ongoing improvements to the railways that passengers expect - and overall satisfaction levels are now at an all-time high of 80%.

"Train operators will continue to raise their game, delivering further improvements to the railway and enhancing the travel experience of passengers. Rail travel is proving very popular, with more passengers travelling this year. The challenge now is to get extra capacity on to the railway and route plans are under way to this end."

Brian Cooke, chairman of passenger group London TravelWatch, said: "While we accept fares have to rise sometimes, any price rise above inflation is regrettable and will seem a lot to passengers in and around London who are increasingly faced with crowded platforms and trains. Most train companies on the busy commuter lines in London are now paying the Government huge premiums, so are being forced to put up fares to a level that is extremely bad news for passengers, meaning effectively that many rail passengers in London are paying a stealth tax to the Government as part of their fare."

Anthony Smith, chief executive of independent consumer watchdog Passenger Focus, said: "If passengers want flexibility or have no choice about when to travel, they now face off-putting prices. Levels of crowding now mean there is no more room for manoeuvre - people are being priced off the railways just as the off-peak is also becoming crowded."

Shadow transport secretary Chris Grayling said: "This is very unwelcome news for passengers and will only underline the fact that things are really not right on our railways. We have inflation-busting fare increases at a time when trains are becoming more and more overcrowded and absolutely nothing is being done to tackle the problem."

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: "Passengers will be exasperated by these fare increases, whilst levels of overcrowding on their trains continue to get worse. If the Government wants people to use public transport, then it is sending the wrong signal by increasing the price gap between rail and car travel."