►►Welcome to Britain, where rail fares are among the highest in the world: A rail passenger reacts in horror to the £48 price of a single ticket from London to Bury St Edmunds. On board a train, another passenger says the £323 for her ticket, bought onboard, is "an absolute rip-off". These were scenes from BBC TWO's 2012 programme The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track◀◀

Rail campaigners are calling for a fair deal for passengers, after Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to freeze fuel duty for car drivers.  

"We look forward to seeing George do the fair thing and freeze rail fares too," said Bruce Williamson of Railfuture.  

"Year on year we have seen rail fares go up ahead of inflation while the cost of motoring has not.

"Why should not rail travellers get a fair deal too? The Tory conference slogan is 'for hardworking people'.

"Well many of those hardworking people take the train to work every morning.  George needs to remember that rail passengers have the vote too."

Mr Osborne said he wants to cancel a 2p per litre rise in fuel duty, expected to be implemented in September next year.

Rail fares in Britain are already the most expensive in Europe and have been ramped up deliberately by the Government for years as part of its policy to make train passengers pay more towards the cost of running the railways.