UK rail fares among cheapest in Europe - sometimes

"You might have heard people say we have the most expensive train fares in the Europe - and it's true. But the UK also has some of the cheapest," says Richard Westcott, the BBC's transport correspondent.

There is a catch. To get cheap fares you have to "book in advance and travel at quieter times" - and that is exactly what UK commuters are doing. According to research published today by the Rail Delivery Group, the trade body for rail operators and state-owned infrastructure manager Network Rail, train journeys hit a record last year of 1.7 billion.

That's around 62 million more than in 2014. The Daily Telegraph adds that this equates to a spend on rail tickets of £9.4bn, driven by a substantial increase of ten per cent in sales of super off-peak and anytime tickets and five per cent in sales of off-peak and advance tickets.

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But per journey, Britons are still spending more for their travel, with peak-time commuters, who have no choice in when they travel, bearing the brunt.

While the number of journeys rose 3.8 per cent on the previous year, the increase in the amount passengers are spending jumped six per cent. Under controls based on inflation set by the government, prices rose 2.5 per cent last year and by a more modest 1.1 per cent this year.

That average increases tend to be concentrated on peak-time and season tickets are a permanent source of anger for consumer groups. According to an article from the BBC from last month, monthly train costs can account for up to 13 per cent of a commuter's salary and research suggests these prices are actually "the highest in Europe".

The rise in passenger numbers also has other consequences in terms of the strain it puts on the Victorian rail infrastructure, with as many as one in ten trains being ten minutes or more late. While there are huge upgrade works taking place, funded by the increase in passenger spending, the 4.6 million journeys a day makes completing these difficult and time-consuming.