ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Train fares have increased by up to 245 per cent since the railways were privatised 20 years ago, research reveals today.

Passengers were said by transport union chiefs to have been systematically “ripped off”. Anytime return fares between London and Manchester and London and Bristol top the list at 245 per cent; Manchester (Virgin Trains) has increased from £93 in 1994 to the current £321.

A similar ticket to Bristol (First Great Western) has risen from £56 to £193.

The figures were compiled by independent fares analyst Barry Doe on behalf of the TSSA transport union.

It came as Network Rail today launched a five-year, £38 billion investment plan which includes meeting a tough punctuality target after it failed to reach one for 2009 to 2014.

NR was expected to run 92.5 per cent of trains on time but only managed about 90 per cent. This means it could face a fine from the Office of Rail Regulation of up to £70 million, although the five-year period has included severe weather.

The train fare survey reveals that since Railtrack (then NR) took over from British Rail, the top 10 has rises of between 151 per cent and 245 per cent.

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which speaks on behalf of the rail industry, said: "The TSSA is trying to take rail passengers for a ride. If its figures bore any resemblance to what most people actually pay, the railway would not be carrying double the number of passengers it was in the mid-1990s.

"By offering a range of fares to suit all pockets, running thousands more services and getting hundreds of thousands more people to their destinations on time every day, the rail industry has generated growth that far outstrips that of European countries with state-run railways. This is helping to fund further improvements to services."