Rail commuters on the north Kent line claim they have been hit with a swingeing hike in fares to help pay for high-speed trains which most of them will not use.

Passengers travelling to London from Herne Bay, Whitstable and Faversham have suffered a near 10 per cent rise in their ticket prices.

That is two per cent above the average for Southeastern customers and a further two per cent more than most other rail companies have imposed elsewhere in the country.

Commuters also say a poster outside stations is misleading because it suggests they will benefit from quicker journey times when the faster trains come into service in the summer.

Commuter Cllr James Flanagan said: “The reality is that unless you are going to St Pancras, the high-speed trains won’t be any use to commuters.

“Looking at the predicted times, it will only takes me eight minutes more to get into Cannon Street or Victoria than if I went on the fast train to St Pancras.

“We appear to have been hit with a particularly hefty hike in fares to subsidise these new trains which is grossly unfair.”

An annual season ticket to London from Herne Bay, Whitstable and Faversham rose on January 2 from £3,280 to £3,600.

Southeastern spokesman Sarah Boundy denied the increased fares were to pay for high speed trains but said they were a result of the reduction in Government subsidy to the company.

She said: “I can see how people might interpret the poster that way but the new fares are for the journeys passengers are taking now, not for what will happen in the future.”

But she admitted the time-saving for many commuters using the new train service would be 'marginal’.

She also said customers of the high speed train into St Pancras via Ebbsfleet could expect to pay up to 35 per cent more for their tickets when the service is introduced in the summer.