TRAIN season ticket fares have risen by about a quarter in the past five years, new figures show.
Passengers travelling on six routes including Nottingham have been hit by increases of up to £728 between 2010 and next month, when more price hikes are due.
Rail users say they can't afford high fares alongside other bills, while transport campaigners say they are "being held to ransom".
West Bridgford resident Luke Hopkins, 25, travels to Derby every day to work as a programmer and spends £131 on a monthly ticket.
It would cost £1,372 for an annual pass – set to increase by £32 next month.
Mr Hopkins said: "You don't save a lot of money by getting an annual ticket and it's already too much as it is.
"I've experienced times when they just cancel a train because they haven't got enough staff and I end up late for work."
Pattern cutter designer Lesley Atkinson, from Sherwood, spends £166 on a monthly pass to travel to Syston, Leicestershire.
An annual ticket would currently cost £1,732.
She said: "It's probably cheaper annually but it's a hell of a lot to pay out in one go when you have other bills to pay.
"It's just getting harder because not everyone's wages are going up in line with that."
David Thornhill, of the Nottinghamshire Campaign for Better Transport, said: "It's an example of the unacceptable face of the privatised railway where passengers are increasingly paying through the nose, but not necessarily for a better service.
"For many people they are seeing no increase in their wages at all. If you have a season ticket then you have to travel virtually daily and have no choice but to pay up, so you're being held to ransom."
Mr Thornhill said many services suffer from overcrowding, in particular the Nottingham to Birmingham line – where prices have been hiked by 24 per cent to £3,720.
Other Nottingham routes affected by increases include those travelling to Derby, Hucknall, Lincoln, Long Eaton and Beeston.
Nottingham South MP and shadow rail minister Lilian Greenwood, who released the figures, said: "It's just yet another example of the government failing to stand up for working people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
"Season tickets like Nottingham to Derby have gone up by 27 per cent when we know most people's wages have one gone up a fraction of that, if at all.
"People are sat or standing on increasingly overcrowded trains and it's becoming unaffordable."
The government will spend £500 million on electrifying the Midland Main Line, between London, Nottingham and Sheffield, by 2019 to speed up journey times.
Rail minister Claire Perry said: "We are taking the tough decisions needed to improve our railways.
"As part of this, from May next year passengers in the Nottingham area will see extra trains and improved journeys thanks to £2 million of government investment on the Nottingham to Lincoln route.
"I'm extremely aware that passengers are concerned about the cost of rail travel and that is why last year we announced a real terms freeze on regulated fares for the first time in a decade and this continues into 2015."
The government announced in last week's Autumn Statement that regulated season tickets and fares would increase by 2.5 per cent.
East Midlands Trains will increase train fares by 1.3 per cent on average, below the current inflation level of 2.3 per cent.
Season ticket price changes
Nottingham to Beeston: 2010 - £364, 2015 - £452, Increase - £88 (24 per cent)
Nottingham to Long Eaton: 2010 - £644, 2015 - £816, Increase - £172 (27 per cent)
Nottingham to Lincoln: 2010 - £1,792, 2015 - £2,208, Increase - £416 (23 per cent)
Nottingham to Hucknall: 2010 - £472, 2015 - £584, Increase - £112 (24 per cent)
Nottingham to Derby: 2010 - £1,108, 2015 - £1,404, Increase - £296 (27 per cent)
Nottingham to Birmingham: 2010 - £2,992, 2015 - £3,720, Increase - £728 (24 per cent)
