REVEALED: Shocking train fares map shows how UK passengers are among WORST hit in Europe
BRITISH rail passengers have endured another round of New Year fare increases which have seen ticket prices rise an average of 3.4 percent - the highest for five years. But does the UK have the highest fares in Europe?
VOUCHERCLOUD
A report commissioned by online discounter Vouchercloud has revealed the only country with more expensive train fares than the UK is Norway where passengers are forced to cough up a whopping 58p per mile for domestic train journeys.
Britain comes a close second at 54p per mile but UK passengers pay twice as much as the third and fourth countries on the list with Austria and Sweden charging 27p per mile.
Compare this to Eastern Europe where 16 countries have prices set below 10p per mile, including Poland, Slovenia and Serbia.
Remarkably, prices in Belarus and Ukraine sit at a ridiculous 1p per mile.
PA
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The increase is higher than I would wish. I think we need to move to the lower form of inflation
In fact, the average across the whole of Europe sits at a lowly 14p per mile, less than one third of the UK figure.
The Government uses the previous July's Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation to determine increases in regulated fares - which are around half of all tickets and include season tickets on most commuter routes.
Train operating companies set the prices of other tickets but are bound by competition rules.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the latest fare increases were "higher than I would wish" and added he wanted to move to the lower CPI measure of inflation to calculate prices.
VOUCHERCLOUD
Mr Grayling insisted the Government was putting significant sums into rail investment, including the renovation of London Bridge station and the creation of Crossrail.
He said: "Something has to pay for that and the question is do we ask the farepayers to pay for part of the cost - the taxpayer generally pays for a lot of it - or do we put all the cost on the taxpayer?
"The increase is higher than I would wish. I think we need to move to the lower form of inflation.”
GETTY
Many season tickets went up by more than £100 on Tuesday, including in Prime Minister Theresa May's constituency of Maidenhead, where an annual pass to London rose by £104 to £3,092.
Other commuter routes that are now more expensive include Liverpool to Manchester (up £108 to £3,152), Neath to Cardiff (up £56 to £1,708) and Elgin to Inverness (up £100 to £2,904).
Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald warned increasing rail fares was a "counterproductive move" and said there wass a "real danger" It could force more people into commuting by car.
