A LABOUR campaigner has labelled a 3.1 per cent rail fare rise as a "slap in the face" to passengers.

Tina McKay, who will stand for the party against incumbent Will Quince at the next General Election was speaking after industry body the Rail Delivery Group announced the rise, which comes into effect on January 2, on Friday.

The increase will see the cost of a season ticket from Colchester North Station to London Liverpool Street rise from £5,104 to £5,264 - the largest rise since January 2013, according to Office of Rail and Road data.

Mrs McKay said: "The announcement of yet another hike in rail fares is a real slap in the face to passengers in Colchester.

"While wages stagnate the cost of a journey goes up year on year. Money keeps going into the pockets of shareholders leaving passengers stuck standing on a poor service and overcrowded trains, many built in the 1980’s.

"We need to renationalise the railways to create an affordable and reliable service by reinvesting profits in them for the many not the few."

Paul Plummer, chief executive of industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), said: "Nobody wants to pay more to travel, especially those who experienced significant disruption earlier this year.

"Money from fares is underpinning the improvements to the railway that passengers want and which ultimately help boost the wider economy.

"That means more seats, extra services and better connections right across the country."

There have been calls for prices to be frozen following chaos caused by the implementation of new timetables in May.

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald claimed the increase showed "a Government and rail industry out of touch with passenger concerns".

Fewer than half of passengers are satisfied with the value for money of train tickets, according to a survey by watchdog Transport Focus.

The organisation's chief executive, Anthony Smith, said: "Many passengers, still reeling from summer timetable chaos and frustrated by 'autumn' disruption, won't believe fares are going up again.

"Until day-to-day reliability returns - with fewer significant delays and cancellations - passenger trust won't begin to recover."

The increase in around 40 per cent of fares, including season tickets, is regulated by the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments.

This is predominantly capped at July's RPI inflation figure, which was 3.2 per cent.

Other fare rises are decided by train companies.

There have been calls for prices to be frozen following chaos caused by the implementation of new timetables in May.

Train punctuality slipped to a 12-year low in the summer and 14 per cent of services failed to meet the industry's punctuality target in the 12 months to November 10.