Taxpayer funding of the railways is rising sharply, putting the Government at odds with its own aim of transferring the financial burden away from the state.

Net subsidies rose 8pc to £3.8bn in 2017/18, the rail regulator announced on Wednesday.

The Government has previously said it was "not fair to ask people who do not use trains to pay more for those who do”.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) found rail costs were rising and total fares were falling.

Train companies said station closures and union strikes for reduced services led to a decrease in the number of journeys.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was making a “record” investment into the railways and insisted train companies “pay more to the government than they receive in subsidies”.

The ORR found the amount train operators paid to the Government almost halved, falling by £300m.

In total the rail industry received £19.4bn of income, down 1.3pc decrease compared with 2016/17, and spent £20.6bn - up 1.4pc.

State funding was last higher in 2013/14, when the "net government support" totalled £3.9bn.

The decrease in income was “largely” due to the closure of London’s Waterloo station during the summer of 2017, the ORR found.