The railways have got so expensive under the Tories that it’s now cheaper to fly to and from places inside Britain than take the train.

With passengers today hit with the biggest fare increases in five years, Scrapbook decided to compare the costs of rail and air travel.

We searched for journeys on five routes on the same dates – going out on Monday January 8 and returning Friday January 12.

Here’s what we found…

London to Edinburgh

Rail – £98

Air – £61.48

Bristol to Newcastle

Rail – £157.90

Air – £56.43

Manchester to Newquay

Rail – £195.20

Air – £117.98

Luton to Aberdeen

Rail – £176.30

Air – £69.66

Birmingham to Glasgow

Rail – £117.40

Air – £70.07

The total difference between air and rail travel on all five journeys is a whopping £368.18.

But with today’s fare increases that’s not even enough to pay for a one month season ticket between Chelmsford and London, which now costs £381.

Here’s a new year’s resolution: Renationalise the railways and run them in the interests of passengers not corporate shareholders…