The cost of the average annual rail season ticket is to be hiked by £40 despite commuters enduring misery caused by strikes and overcrowding.
More than 1.7 billion rail journeys are expected to be affected by the 1.5 per cent hike from next year. The rise is expected to be announced next week, The Times reported, and would bring the cost of the average season ticket to £2,777.
The rise, if it goes ahead, would be among the lowest since the privatisation of the railways, reflecting the government's pledge to keep price hikes in line with inflation during this parliament.
But the move is still likely to be met with anger from commuters who have seen services disrupted by a wave of strike action this year.
Last week, Southern Rail commuters faced misery for days as union members staged a walkout in a long-running dispute over the role of conductors on trains.
And on Friday, the RMT union announced strike action on Virgin east coast services on Friday August 26 and bank holiday Monday.
Figures released recently also showed that one in three commuters into major cities have to stand during their journeys.
The Campaign for Better Transport's executive director, Stephen Joseph, said of the fare hikes: "This will go down badly with people who have been facing a terrible level of service on networks such as Southern.
“I think the government is going to have to show that the extra fares are paying for real improvements in the railways, having an impact on all routes, not just a few," he told The Times.
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, representing rail operators, told the paper: "For every pound paid in fares, 97p goes back into running and improving services and it’s the rail industry’s job to make sure that money is spent well.”
