TORIES should back down and end the “scandal” of Britain’s privatised railways, Labour said yesterday as fare rises hit a five-year record.

Train companies announced that tickets will increase in price by an average of 3.4 per cent on January 2. This is slightly below the government-set rise for “regulated” fares such as season tickets, which will shoot up by 3.6 per cent.

Rail Delivery Group (RDG) chief executive Paul Plummer, whose organisation represents industry bosses, said fare revenue was “underpinning the partnership railway’s long-term plan to change and improve.”

But Labour’s shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said: “This latest increase in rail fares is staggering.

“Private rail companies continue to cash in while passengers and commuters have to cough up.

“The Tories should follow Labour’s example and commit to ending the scandal of train companies being run for profit rather than people.”

A recent survey showed that only 47 per cent of passengers thought train tickets offered value for money. One in every nine trains on Britain’s railways missed punctuality targets last year.

Consumer group Which? described the increase as “another blow for passengers,” while rail unions condemned it.

RMT leader Mick Cash said: “For public-sector workers and many others in our communities who have had their pay and benefits capped or frozen by this government, these fare increases are another twist of the economic knife.

“The private train companies are laughing all the way to the bank.”

Drivers’ union Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said passengers are “paying the penalty fare for privatisation.”

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, warned that rail users are being “bled dry to ensure our private train companies stay in profit.”

The RDG said private investment in rail reached a record £925 million in 2016-17. But in the same year £4.2 billion of taxpayers’ cash was ploughed into the sector.

Labour has advocated the full renationalisation of the railways since Jeremy Corbyn became the party’s leader in 2015. The party had previously advocated allowing the state to bid against private operators for each franchise.

Under the party’s current blueprint, franchises would be taken back as they expire, with the option of invoking break clauses in longer-term contracts.