Average ticket prices have risen by 3.4 per cent as part of changes which took effect from today, with many commuters having to contend with increases in their season ticket of more than £100.
Trade unions and pressure groups have claimed that travellers are increasingly being "priced off" the rail network by the annual hike in prices.
According to the website TrainLine, a 12-month ticket for journeys between Marston Green and London Euston will set passengers back an eye-watering £5,760.
Stephen Joseph, the chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said: "We called for a rail fares freeze to help struggling commuters, but the Government chose to snub rail passengers and only freeze fuel duty.
"Today season ticket holders will have had to fork out almost as much as drivers will save this year. That doesn’t seem fair to us or the millions of people who commute by train, especially as wages continue to stagnate. What’s good enough for motorists should be good enough for rail passengers."
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said that the increases were higher than he would wish, although he insisted there were difficulties in tying fare rises to a lower form of inflation.
His opposite number in the Labour Party, Andy McDonald, reiterated the Opposition's support for renationalising the railways - with privately-run franchises reverting back to state control.
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