COMMUTERS face back-to-work misery as rail fares rise 2.7 per cent tomorrow.

Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs the Gatwick Express, Southern, and Thameslink from Sussex, will put up prices for the new year.

Some long-distance commuters will see the annual cost of getting to work increase by more than £100.

Fewer than half (47 per cent) of passengers are satisfied with the value for money of train tickets, according to the latest survey by watchdog Transport Focus.

The rises mean the cost of a season ticket from Hove to London has risen more than 12.9 per cent since 2019 and will now cost to £4,592 – the price is £124 more than last year. A standard day ticket from Lewes to Victoria now costs £59.40 – £6.70 more than in 2014.

Network Rail data shows that only 65 per cent of trains arrived at their scheduled station stops within one minute of the timetable in the past 12 months.

Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: “We speak to hundreds of thousands of passengers each year and we know that fewer than half feel they get value for money.

“After a year of patchy performance, passengers just want a consistent day-to-day service they can rely on and a better chance of getting a seat.

“Transport Focus has long called for a fares system that is simple to use, easy to understand and is flexible enough to cater to how people work and travel today.

Paul Plummer, chief executive of industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “We understand that no one wants to pay more to travel, but passengers will benefit from 1,000 extra improved train carriages and over 1,000 extra weekly services in 2020.”

Meanwhile rail companies came under fire after it was revealed the proportion of Britain’s train services under foreign ownership has more than doubled during the past decade.

Analysis shows 61 per cent of journeys are with franchises owned by overseas companies or governments, compared with 29 per cent when current records began in 2011. Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said it was “nothing short of a scandal” the latest fare increase will be “siphoned off in profits by overseas operators to subsidise their domestic operations”.

The Department for Transport insisted contracts are awarded through “rigorous, fair and open competition” to bidders offering “the best deal for passengers and the taxpayer”.