RAIL fares for Worcestershire rail passengers will rise by an average of one per cent from January 2.

The Rail Delivery Group which represents train operators and Network Rail, announced the increase today, Friday, and said it was the smallest annual rise for six years.

Although the 2016 rise for regulated fares is limited to no more than one per cent - as it is linked to July's rate of Retail Price Index inflation - unregulated fares, such as off-peak leisure tickets, can go up by as much as the train companies like.

News of the increase comes the day after train operator London Midland announced £13 million is to be spent on improvements to services after its contract between London and the North of England was extended for another 18 months.

A spokesman for London Midland, Francis Thomas, said: "We are putting up regulated fares, such as day of travel and season tickets, up by the rate of inflation announced in July so we are increasing them by one per cent. Our unregulated fares go up and down throughout the year depending on usage. Regulated fares make up around 50 per cent of tickets sold."

Great Western Railway spokesman James Davies said its average prices across regulated and unregulated fares were also going up on average by one per cent.

Martin Abrams, of the Campaign for Better Transport, noted that fares in Britain have increased by over 25 per cent in the past five years.

He said: "To avoid pricing people off the railways, the train operating companies and the government need to work closely together to provide fairer, simpler and cheaper fares through flexible ticketing and making sure people are always sold the cheapest ticket available."

David Sidebottom, passenger director at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, claimed passengers would be relieved that regulated fares are capped at inflation and there is no flexibility for individual ticket prices to go up by more than this.

But he added: "Fares are still going up overall, on the back of years of above-inflation increases."

Shadow transport secretary Lilian Greenwood said: "Commuters were always told that higher fares would fund investment, but vital projects have been delayed for years and passengers are paying ever more to travel on increasingly overcrowded and unreliable trains. It's clear that the railways are in urgent need of reform."

Rail Minister Claire Perry claimed the government's decision to link regulated fare increases to no more than RPI will save the average season ticket holder £425 by 2020.

She added: "Our plan for passengers is improving journeys for everyone. It's transforming the tickets people buy, how much they pay for them, the trains they sit on, how quickly they arrive and the stations they arrive in."