Rail passengers and workers will be staging protests at London King’s Cross station and other places tomorrow, the day higher fares come into force on Britain’s railway network.

The protests are being coordinated by Action for Rail, which says rail fares are going up by 3%, four times faster than average wages.

Britain’s walk-on rail fares are among the highest in Europe, although there are a few bargains to be found by searching for cheap offers well in advance of travelling.

Railfuture’s Bruce Williamson said:  "The average 3.1% increase comes after 10 years of inflation-busting fare increases, meaning that our trains are easily the most expensive in Europe.

“This will mean increasing financial pain for many ordinary commuters who are facing a cost of living crisis and are in some cases spending 25% of their income on rail fares."

In his autumn statement, Chancellor George Osborne backed down from plans to increase rail fares by 1% above inflation, limiting them to just the Retail Price Index measure of inflation, but this is just an average, said Bruce.

“Rail companies still have some flexibility, and we may see some fares going up by more than 5%, nearly double the inflation rate. Most people have not seen their wages go up by this amount.

“The RPI measure of inflation is higher than the Consumer Price Index, but most pensions benefits and salaries are linked to CPI not RPI, so what does this mean in reality?  It means that a larger chunk of people’s income will be spent on rail fares."

The Chancellor also froze petrol duty for the second year running.  

"So the cost of driving remains static while the Government seeks to price people off the trains, worsening congestion,” explained Bruce.

"There are still some bargain fares to be had, if you can fight your way through Britain's spectacularly complex fares system, which is unfair on people who do not know how to exploit the anomalies.

“So Railfuture is doing its bit by publishing an online guide to help travellers find the best fares.”

Railfuture member Robert Forsythe has discovered that a 10p rail fare in 1972 (when British Rail ran the network), should be 92p today if it had matched inflation. In fact the March to Manea in Cambridgeshire fare he uses as an example is now £4.10. Robert’s comment: “Privatisation is not progress.”

Although the average ticket rise is 3%, the cost of an annual season ticket from Chelmsford to Colchester on Greater Anglia trains is going up by 5% to £2,012.

East Midlands Trains said some fares would be frozen but the average increase would be 2.6%.

Labour’s Mary Creagh said: "Rail fares have risen 20% under this Government.”

Rail campaigners are urging train operators to follow the example of the only publicly run operator, East Coast, which is putting up fares by an average of only 1.2%.

Karen Boswell, East Coast managing director, said she hoped the fares would make train travel on the East Coast main line more attractive and increase the amount the company pays to the Treasury in return for running services.

The Campaign for Better Transport is considering targeting 74 marginal seats at the next general election, with the aim of forcing MPs to promise to keep fare rises reasonable.

CBT has identified as vulnerable 49 Tory seats, 14 Labour and 10 Liberal Democrat.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT rail union, said: “The members of this Government, who have presided over a culture of greed and chaos on our railways, should take note.
“Public ownership is the only solution to this outrageous racketeering that forces the British people to pay the highest fares in Europe to travel on overcrowded, under-staffed and unreliable services.”

Action for Rail, which is backed by the TUC, is also calling for a halt to planned staff cuts on London Transport and opposition to European Union plans to impose privatisation on rail services in every EU country.

The Railfuture guide can be found at Railfuture's website

Action for Rail to join in an “email your MP” protest.