Train companies in the UK have announced inflation-beating fare increases for 2008.
The decision by industry body - the Association of Train Operating Companies – will result in the UK having the highest rail fares across Europe, with British rail passengers set to face price rises of up to 15 per cent next year.
Even fares regulated by the Government including season tickets, saver and standard day returns will be increased by an average of just under five per cent.
The Association of Train Operating Companies, which state that the rises will help improve services, is expected to make an announcement on the price rises soon before they are implemented in early January.
Fare rises will vary between ticket types and lines across the UK. Regulated fares will rise by the retail price index measure of inflation for July - 3.8 per cent - plus another one per cent, while some unregulated fares, set by the train companies themselves, will go up by much more.
For example, passengers travelling on CrossCountry and East Midlands Trains will face a seven per cent hike in prices, while commuters on the East Coast line, linking London to Newcastle and Edinburgh, will face a 6.6 per cent increase.
The cost of standard day returns, monthly, yearly and off-peak tickets will also rise, in many cases by twice the rate of inflation .
The price rises were greeted with dismay by consumer groups, MPs and rail unions, all of whom argue that passengers are not getting value for money on overcrowded trains and that the increases will damage efforts to encourage commuters to use public transport .
Anthony Smith, of the consumer group Passenger Focus, said: "Passengers will be shocked. They will be wondering where this extra money is going and what it's for."
Tory transport spokesman Theresa Villiers suggested the price hike by the Government is their attempt to "price people off the railways and disguise their own glaring failure to provide extra rail capacity".
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