Rail fares in Kent will rise by 2.2% from the new year - the lowest hike in five years.

The overall average increase in ticket prices will affect season ticket and off-peak fares.

Southeastern - which runs trains in the county - says the extra cash will be spent on improvements including more than 95,000 extra seats on off-peak services and up to 75 extra staff at key stations.

The firm has also announced a freeze in the prices of off-peak fares, which it says will cut the cost of more than one million journeys.

The offer means that the cost of a return off-peak journey between Margate and London will go down by 32%, from £32.90 to £22.40.

For the first time, the operator will also offer a discount for people pre-booking off-peak fares on the Southeastern website.

The news follows Chancellor George Osborne's announcement that regulated rail fares for 2015 will increase by 2.5 percent.

The overall average increase in regulated (season ticket) and unregulated (off peak) fares on the Southeastern network will be below inflation and limited to 2.2%.

Southeastern's managing director David Statham said: "We know that customers want more value for money and an improvement to their service – and we're committed to providing just that.

"More than 250,000 people rely on our trains for their journeys every day and we're investing fares directly in schemes that will make those journeys easier for our passengers.

"These include extra seats on some services, providing more staff to help passengers at stations and on trains, refreshing the look of our fleet of trains and improving stations right across our network."

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