RAIL commuters in Farnham face an above-average 1.8 per cent hike to their annual season tickets to the capital from January 2.

Fares on South West Trains services are to rise by an average of 1.5 per cent (7p per average single journey) in the new year.

However, for those travelling between Farnham and London Waterloo, an annual Travelcard season ticket (including London Zones 1-6) is set to increase 1.8 per cent, £84, to £4,708.

A monthly Travelcard season ticket will increase by the same percentage, by £8 to £452, as will an Anytime Day Travelcard between Farnham and Waterloo - an unregulated fare - by 70p to £39.10.

This is below the July Retail Price Index inflation rate of 1.9 per cent which is used by the Government to set all regulated fares, including season tickets, and is also below the average national increase for 2017 which stands at 2.3 per cent.

A South West Trains spokesman said: “This means that South West Trains customers will see fares on average reducing in real terms.”

Rail passengers travelling with South West Trains can now check new ticket prices for 2017 by visiting National Rail Enquiries at nationalrail.co.uk.

The spokesman added: “As well as paying for the running of the day-to-day rail network, fares are helping government to support the biggest investment in railway since Victorian times.”

South West Trains is currently investing £50m in a range of customer improvements, including the introduction of 100 new customer ambassadors to provide a more personalised service at stations; the roll out of 91 interactive video ticket machines linked to a new dedicated 24/7 customer contact centre; 1,400 extra car parking spaces, and 1,400 more cycle spaces at stations across the network.

South West Trains is also said to be working in partnership with Network Rail on a programme of work to deliver some of the biggest improvements on the network in decades which are expected to boost peak-time capacity by 30 per cent by May 2018.

The plans include a £210m fleet of new trains to be introduced from 2017 and major improvements to London Waterloo, Europe’s busiest station.

Christian Roth, managing director of South West Trains, said: “We have worked hard to offer the best value travel for our customers. The changes in January will mean fares for South West Trains customers will on average reduce in real terms.

“As well as helping to fund the biggest national investment in the railways since Victorian times through increased payments to Government, the money from fares is also helping to drive many real improvements for customers across our network.

“This includes new trains and major work to improve journeys to and from London Waterloo.”