FURIOUS commuters have lambasted yesterday's price hike in rail fares as "insane" and "ridiculous".

Regular passengers of the "delayed, over-crowded and cancelled" train services can now expect to pay an extra 1.9 per cent on some fares as of next year.

Dr Fiona Tavner, who lives in Marston, has been commuting from Oxford to London for the past five years.

She said: "The feeble to no reason at all staff can give for delays that mean I will then be half an hour to an hour late into work is just ridiculous.

"I could understand a price increase if I could see a visible improvement to the service but that is not happening."

The 44-year-old consultant forks out more than £6,000 a year as her ticket also includes the underground for when she reaches the capital.

Linked to July's Retail Price Index – a measure of inflation, the price rise was confirmed by the Office for National Statistics yesterday.

The increase relates to 'regulated' fares, which includes season tickets on most commuter journeys, some off-peak return tickets on long distance journeys and anytime tickets around major cities.

Research by the TUC and the Action For Rail union campaign showed fares have risen by double the rate of wages since 2010.

The analysis revealed fares have increased by 25 per cent in the past six years, while average weekly earnings have grown by 12 per cent in the same period.

Butler, Roger Wilson, who lives in Didcot and commutes to Oxford every day said it was "a joke" to increase the price for a service that "was not going to get better any time soon."

The 27-year-old pays £75 a month for his rail fare and said the increase was "annoying" to have to pay.

He said: "I cannot see this service get any better so why are we having to pay for more?

"Wages certainly are not increasing by almost two per cent so why are we paying this much?"

Between June and July this year, 2.8 per cent of Great Western Railway trains were cancelled or significantly delayed by more than 30 minutes and 1.8 per cent were cancelled on Chiltern Railways.

And in a survey last autumn, it was revealed the second most crowded train in the country was Great Western Railway 07:34 service from Didcot Parkway to London Paddington.

Richard Fairhurst, a freelance writer, who lives in Charlbury, commutes several times a week from the village to the capital.

The 41-year-old said: "We are at the mercy of train operators and the Government for what they want to charge.

"The best way for people in the village to commute is the train because we have so many horrible winding roads so really there is no other option for us other than to pay the price."

Currently an annual season ticket from either Oxford or Didcot to London costs £4,832, but could rise by £91 to £4923 next year.

But some commuters defended the price hike and said it was necessary for improvements such as the electrification and flood prevention work at Oxford and Banbury.

Chris Bates, Chairman of the Cherwell Rail Users' Group, said: "It is a small figure and of course not everyone will welcome a rise but at the moment there is a huge amount of improvement works going on in the area."

Paul Plummer, chief executive at the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said: "For every pound paid in fares, 97p goes back into running and improving services and it's our job to make sure that money is spent well."

James Davis, spokesman for Great Western Railway, said the money raised from fares was invested in "more trains, better stations and improved services".

He added: "Our single walk-up fares compare well with similar distance journeys on other train operators."

Chiltern Railways was unable to comment.