PROTESTERS launched a campaign against hikes in rail fares at Southampton Central Station and Winchester this morning.

Trade union representatives are among those criticising against ticket prices, which increased on average by 2.3 per cent this week.

The figure is the average increase across all rail companies nationally and came into effect on January 2.

The action, which happened at 7am this morning, is part of a series of peaceful action led by TUC backed Action4rail which is taking place across the south west.

It has been organised to coincide with the first working day of 2017 since the price rise, which union leaders are calling a “rip-off”.

The protests follows new research by the campaign group which it says shows that commuters are at risk of spending up to six times as much of their salaries on rail fares than passengers travelling in other European nations.

Nigel Costley, TUC regional secretary for the south west said “British commuters are forced to shell out far more on rail fares than others in Europe but will look with envy at the cheaper, publicly-owned services on the continent.

"Years of failed privatisation have left us with sky-high ticket prices, overcrowded trains, understaffed services and out-of-date infrastructure.

"Private train companies are milking the system, and the government is letting them get away with it."

The analysis also shows that rail fares have increased by 56 per cent since 2006 which is more than double the change in average earnings (24 per cent) and inflation (26 per cent).

Ashley Minto, Action4Rail Southampton Coordinator, who organised the Southampton protest said "Britain still thinks that its rail system is better than it is, but it isn’t performing at all.

"We staged the protest with four of us present to engage with commuters, and they have been very keen to hear from us.

"Southampton still has a big problems with carbon emissions due to the shear amount of cars on the road, so we need more people to use the train.

"But the fare system is letting commuters down and as a result commuters are becoming fed up with the increases and not using public transport like the trains."

However, according to the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), representing UK train operators, they say around 97p in every pound paid by passengers goes back into running and improving services.

In a statement, RDG chief executive Paul Plummer said "Nobody wants to pay more to travel to work and at the moment in some places people aren't getting the service they are paying for.

He added: "However, increases to season tickets are set by government.

"Money from fares is helping to sustain investment in the longer, newer trains and more punctual journeys that passengers want."

Virgin Trains East Coast said an overhaul of its pricing strategy means there will be 10,000 more discounted advanced fares available every week.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "We are delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for more than a century, providing more seats and services.

"We have always fairly balanced the cost of this investment between the taxpayer and the passenger."