Commuters face a price hike of 3.2 per cent in rail fares which will add more than £80 to the cost of an annual season ticket to London next year.

Those travelling from Watford will pay more to travel into the capital and calls have been “to give commuters a break”.

The price of these fares is controlled by the Government which uses the July Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation – announced by the Office for National Statistics – to determine the cap on the annual increase.

Chris Ostrowski commutes daily to London from Watford for work. The Labour parliamentary candidate for the town has backed calls for the lower Consumer Prices Index (CPI), rather than the RPI index.

He said: "The cost is extortionate, yet the service is clearly underfunded. I paid £3,568 for my annual season ticket from Watford Junction to central London at the beginning of this year. In 2019 I'll have to pay £114 more - why?

"This news is yet another smack in the face for Watford's hard working commuters who have been hit again and again by the Tories' rail fare rises."

“Labour would bring our railways into public ownership, this would mean capped fairs, more reliable services and more investment. It’s time to put passengers first, not profit and run our railways for the many, not the few.”

The East of England MEP Alex Mayer added: "Give commuters a break. Surely after the chaos of the last few months, the government should not be allowing fares to increase faster than many people's wages.”