The fare increase on the railways in January 2018 will be the biggest for five years and nearly four times the pay rise of millions of workers.

It will be a further blow to commuters in London, and other parts of the country, already suffering from the worsening squeeze on living standards

Regulated fares, which include season and other commuter tickets, are set to go up next January in line with the rate of RPI inflation this month.

Economists are predicting RPI will be between 3.6 per cent and 3.9 per cent in July.

This is far higher than salary rises for millions of public sector employees, capped at one per cent, and also some workers in the private sector getting small wage rises or pay freezes.