RAIL commuters were hit by delays yesterday on the first day back to work after a festive period of disruption.

A signal failure at the newly refurbished junction at Purley on the London Brighton line caused chaos as campaigners and MPs protested about rail fares.

The 30 minute delay came as figures from Action for Rail revealed UK workers spend up to six times as much of their salaries on fares as European passengers.

This week rail fares increased a further 1.1 per cent.

A spokesman for Network Rail said they were investigating whether the signal fault, which was caused by a defective cable, was related to the work at Purley which ran over Christmas and New Year.

Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove, led a protest against rail fares at Hove Station yesterday.

He said: "We need to get a grip of the rail network".

"We’ve seen a 25 per cent rise in fares since David Cameron took office and yet those of us who use the railways are still suffering from cancelled trains, delays and a lack of basic facilities, such as toilets.

"Passengers and frontline staff have been let down by train managers and the Government. Even though they are training more drivers than ever before it came too late to help Christmas services.

"Ministers made a promise to my face - and as an MP that means the promise was to you too - that services would improve in six months but they have not."

At Brighton Station, Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, was also protesting and called on the railways to be brought back into public hands.

She said: "The case for public ownership of our railways grows every year. As prices continue to soar, many services are failing woefully.

"If the Government really wants to make savings and improve our transport network for everyone, it should recognise that privatisation has failed and take steps to return the railways to public ownership.

"By taking back individual franchises when they expire or when a company fails to meet its franchise conditions, the state could save over £1 billion a year every year – an amount that can be spent on improving services and reducing rail fares."

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Train workers union Aslef, said: "The vast majority of workers are fed up with paying sky-high fares. Commuters travelling into London from Kent and Sussex know their £5,000 a year season tickets would be much cheaper under public ownership."

A meeting between Sussex MPs and the railways minister Claire Perry, along with representatives of the train companies, is set for January 18.