Passengers are still paying a larger proportion of rail costs.

Figures released by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) showed the total income generated by commuters between April 1st 2012 and March 31st 2013 was £7.7 billion, a rise of 3.6 per cent compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the cost of running the railway system came out at £12.3 billion.

The study found passengers were contributing even more to the income of the industry than taxpayers, paying a 59.2 per cent share of the costs. This is compared to 57.4 per cent in 2011-12 and 56 per cent in 2010-11. 

Chief executive of the ORR Richard Price commented: "Passengers are increasingly the main funder of railways and must be central to developing its plans for the future. ORR is working hard to put passengers at the heart of the railway."

Interestingly, the report revealed the government's level of funding has fallen over the past few years. Ministers contributed £4 billion worth of funding to the industry, equating to 30.9 per cent of its income. This is a drop of 4.2 per cent against the previous year.