Great Western Railway users will see increases in rail fares of 3.2 per cent on regulated fares and 2.9 per cent on average across all fares on January 2.

This means a standard annual adult season ticket from Chippenham to London will rise from £9,720 to £10,028 - an increase of £308, and from Trowbridge to London will rise from £8684 to £8960, an increase of £276.

Paul Johnson, chair of Transwilts and leader of its Chippenham Rail User group, said:

"If you are a commuter to London there is no question the increase in fares is always unwelcome and particularly when a lot of the services have suffered from disruption."

He added: "This has been a very difficult year for travellers, and there is no doubt those who have suffered are taking another blow to have to pay more."

A GWR spokesman said: “Our regulated fares will rise in line with the Government’s chosen formula to maintain investment in the railways (3.2 per cent), and by 2.9 per cent average across all fares.

“During the last year we have seen investment in the railway help us provide almost 20,000 more train services than the year before, and a significant increase in seats across the network every day.

“New Intercity Express Trains are delivering real benefits for passengers, with around 6,000 extra seats into and out of Chippenham every day as we continue our work to deliver brand new or upgraded trains on every part of our network.”

He said the cost per mile of a season ticket between Chippenham and London Paddington was 19 pence.

According to Office of Rail and Road data, it will be the largest rise since January 2013.

There have been calls for prices to be frozen following chaos caused by the implementation of new timetables in May. Fewer than half (45 per cent) of passengers are satisfied with the value for money of train tickets, according to a survey by watchdog Transport Focus.

The organisation's chief executive, Anthony Smith, said: "Many passengers, still reeling from summer timetable chaos and frustrated by 'autumn' disruption, won't believe fares are going up again."