Train ticket lottery: some firms take you four times as far for same fare

Research showed some train operators charge four times as much as others for journeys over the same distance.

A £10 Saver return ticket will take you up to 119 miles on some off-peak services but as few as 27 miles on others.

Now the Liberal Democrats, who carried out the research, are demanding an investigation by the National Audit Office, the public finance watchdog.

Spokesman Susan Kramer said: 'How do ministers expect to get people out of their cars and on to public transport when using the railways is so expensive?'

The research found Merseyrail was the cheapest on such unregulated fares, with £10 taking a passenger 118 miles.

The most expensive were the Heathrow Express at 27 miles and Gatwick Express at 37. The dearest train company apart from the airport shuttles was Hull Trains, which takes you just 49 miles for £10.

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On average, open single fares are twice the price per mile of saver return fares.

In January, millions of passengers were hit with inflation-busting fare rises averaging 4.3 per cent, with some tickets going up more than 11 per cent.

Train fares have soared by 6.8 per cent over the last year while passenger-satisfaction has slumped, watchdogs at the Office of Rail Regulation reported this month.

Since Labour came to power a decade ago, the cost of travelling by train has risen by 6 per cent above inflation.

The call for an inquiry came as the Government prepared for the publication tomorrow of its 30-year strategy for the railways.

This is expected to lead to even more misery for passengers - with solutions to chronic peak-time overcrowding understood to include ripping out seats and pushing up fares. The White Paper and funding plan to be announced by new Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly will set out details of moves to upgrade the rail system between 2009 and 2014.

It will also include a longer-term blueprint, including new trains and changes to signalling systems that will allow more trains to run closer together in a bid to reduce overcrowding.

And it will set spending levels on railways which enjoy a massive £3billion subsidy from taxpayers. Network Rail has asked for £21billionfor running costs and up to £8billion for 'enhancements' between 2009 and 2014.

Tories said last night that Labour was simply 'rehashing' old announcements and the only certainty was 'higher prices for more overcrowded trains'.

Spokesman Theresa Villiers said: 'We've heard it all before. The Government has made promise after promise on the railways and in many cases have failed to deliver.

'Why on earth should we believe them this time?'