Rail travellers face a 4.1 per cent increase next January.

It comes after the Office for National Statistics confirmed the inflation rate for July – to which fares are pegged plus one per cent – stood at 3.1 per cent.

Tim Calow, chairman of Aire Valley Rail Users’ Group, said: “This is part of a continuing pattern of the Government trying to reduce its subsidy for rail services.

“We have not seen substantial investment for quite some time, certainly not in the Aire Valley “Overcrowding is a problem still. The railway is essential to the economic development of Leeds, Bradford and the Aire Valley.”

The rise was condemned by unions and campaigners who staged protests across the country to highlight the increase – well above rises in earnings.

RMT’s Bob Crow called it “a kick in the teeth for the British people.”