Train users will have their pockets hit from today as New Year fare rises see some ticket prices increase by 4%.

Southern customers travelling on journeys which have non regulated fares, including off-peak day single and returns, off-peak day travelcards, super off-peak Pricebuster fares, some anytime day single and returns and some off-peak returns will be hit by the rises.

A spokesman for the firm said that passengers could avoid the increase in walk-up fares by booking online. From January until May 2010 there will be a 10% discount on prices. Advance purchase fares, which can save passengers up to 40%, will also continue to be sold.

First Capital Connect, which also runs trains from Brighton, has pledged to make no increases to its unregulated fares in light of the credit crunch.

The price of both train companies’ regulated fares, which include season tickets, savers and standard day returns, will fall by 0.4% because they are capped by the Government.

Alex Ross, from Sussex Rail Action which campaigns for better train services, said passengers who have suffered delays over the winter period would not be happy about any rise in prices.