Train passengers have complained they are paying “more than their share” after a report revealed that increasing numbers of Sussex commuters feel they are being ripped off.

Railway watchdog Passenger Focus yesterday announced that less than a third of First Capital Connect (FCC) and Southeastern customers and just 40% of Southern passengers thought they were getting value for money.

It comes after some ticket prices rose sharply this year after the Government allowed train companies to set their own regulated fares.

Chief executive of Passenger Focus Anthony Smith called for an end to “massive fare hikes.”

He said: “These scores are a salutary reminder of just how much some passengers are paying to use the railway. The next three years will see passengers hit by above inflation fare increases – this must be the end of the era of massive fare hikes. Passengers are paying more than their share. It is now up to the industry to reduce its costs.”

Last month a rail review led by Sir Roy McNulty found that ticket prices were “already too high” and fares should be “more equitable.”

FCC was voted the joint worst operator (with National Express East Anglia) with only 78% of passengers rating the service as satisfactory or good.