Train fares will go up on average by 2.3 per cent next year, rail industry leaders have announced.

The figure is the average increase across all rail tickets.

Lianna Etkind of the Campaign for Better Transport condemned the hike, saying people were being "priced off the railway".

"I think its's very bad news for passengers," she said.

"This year has been dominated by disruptions, delays on the rail network, and passengers are right to feel really angry that yet again rail fares are going up."

She urged the Government to introduce flexible season tickets with "fair discounts" for some eight million part-time workers across the UK.

From December 11, passengers on Thameslink and Great Northern trains, along with their counterparts on Southern and Gatwick Express, will be the first in the country to benefit from Delay Repay 15.

This will enable passengers to claim compensation for delays to their journey of 15 minutes or more, rather than the current 30 minute threshold.

Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary Mick Cash also called the hike "another kick in the teeth for British passengers".

It "condemns them to continue to pay some of the highest fares in Europe to travel on rammed out and unreliable trains," said Mr Cash.

"This culture of private greed on Britain's railways has to stop and RMT will step up the fight for a publicly-owned railway where services and safety are the priority, not corporate profits."

The chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, defended the move, saying the money would help the Government "support the biggest investment in our railway since Victorian times."

"We understand how passengers feel when fares go up, and we know that in some places they haven't always got the service they pay for," added Paul Plummer.

"Around 97p in every pound passengers pay goes back into running and improving services."