Rail passengers in Kent are to be faced with a 3.6% hike next year for their tickets.

The annual increase for regulated fares is based on the Retail Price Index - a measure of inflation published monthly by the Office for National Statistics - which has been confirmed as 3.6%.

Some season ticket prices in Kent are already among the highest in the country, particularly on High Speed 1 services where passengers pay a premium for journeys.

The Department for Transport says the government calculates the cost fairly and 97% of every £1 of a passenger's fare goes back into the railway.

However, campaign groups say it is time to review the way that tickets prices are calculated.

In a statement, Southeastern said it understood that passengers did not want to see large increases in the cost of travel.

“We understand that no one likes to see prices go up, especially season ticket holders. However, the government regulates annual fare increases to meet the costs of running Britain’s railways. For unregulated fares – including off-peak travel – we offer discounted ticket prices, special offers and promotional fares.

"Southeastern remains committed to making journeys better for passengers and has invested over £70m to improve train services and station facilities.”

Stephen Joseph, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “This rise will be the highest since 2013 and will leave many commuters struggling to meet the cost of their commute next year.

"That's why we want the Government to bring in a fares freeze for January; it's frozen fuel duty for the last seven years and we think rail fares should be given the same treatment.”

The issue of rail fares is sensitive politically and Kent MPs recently took the unusual step of urging the government to consider how fares could be reduced when it awards the next franchise to operate rail services in Kent.

David Sidebottom, director of independent transport user watchdog Transport Focus, added: "Yet again, passengers, now majority funders of the railway, face fare rises next January.

"Commuters do not give value for money on their railways a high satisfaction score – just one third according to our latest survey.

"So while performance remains patchy and with pay and wages not keeping pace with inflation, they will feel rightly aggrieved if they are paying much higher rises next January.

"Why is the Government not using its preferred measure ofinflation: the one that is used to determine wages and pension increases, and one which is often lower than RPI? Why not use the Consumer Prices Index for rail fares too? Passengers deserve a fairer deal."