The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) has held a demonstration outside the Conservative Party conference due to increased rail fares.

TSSA states that some prices have increased as much as 210 per cent since John Major privatised the industry in 1995.  

It is calling on the government to stop annual fare rises of one per cent above inflation, which has resulted in an upturn of 20 per cent since 2010's election.

General secretary for the union Manuel Cortes said: "The irony in all of this is that the Great Train Robbers who stole £3 million went to jail for 30 years. These people have ripped off passengers for billions and they have been rewarded with knighthoods."

Virgin Trains and First Group's Great Western were named as having the most expensive fares, with walk-on prices up 210 per cent from 1995. This was followed by East Coast (200 per cent), East Midlands Trains (155 per cent) and Greater Anglia (150 per cent). A single ticket from Manchester to London now costs 240 per cent more than it did in 1993.

In contrast, TSSA points out the rate of inflation during this same period was 66 per cent.