Fury at rail fare rises

Thousands of London rail commuters will have to pay the highest fare rises in the country - up to 10 per cent.

Peak time passengers using Connex from Kent will pay most. The rises, four times the inflation rate, fly in the face of restrictions aimed at keeping commuter fare increases roughly level with inflation.

Worst hit are commuters using busy Pett's Wood station into London. A weekly season goes up from £21 a week to £23 (9.7 per cent).

From Sevenoaks a weekly season increases from £38.50p to £41.40p (7.7 per cent). Commuter David Richards, 38, who travels from Pett's Wood, said: "This is outrageous. The trains are always late and I never get a seat. Passengers have no other option but to pay. There is no practical alternative."

A Connex spokeswoman said the company is permitted under the regulations to increase fares on these particular routes because prices have been kept low over previous years. This created an "allowance" which is now being used up. Elsewhere the average commuter increase will be 2.5 per cent. Other commuter companies, such as South West Trains, have not singled out individual routes for higher increases. Instead there will be a blanket rise of 2.5 per cent from next month.

The Association of Train Operating Companies is due to announce later this week how much London fares will go up. Many off-peak fares, which are not regulated, including those on the most crowded routes - SWT, Thameslink and South Central - will increase by 3.5per cent. Off-peak on Connex will rise by 2.5 per cent.