As rail fares soar yet again the Daily Echo questions whether this hike is justified. It certainly spells more misery for those who rely on public transport and Jamie Thompson asks should taxpayers be hit for the cost of improvements to a service they don't use?

WHO pays for our trains? Should it come out of the pockets of the ten per cent who travel by rail or the other 90 per cent of taxpayers who never set foot on a station platform?

These questions lie at the heart of the government's decision to allow train companies to hike ticket prices way above inflation and slash services in a bid to get the network back on track.

Yesterday ministers revealed plans to alter price caps on fares on main commuter routes until 2006, with season tickets and saver tickets rising by around four per cent.

The changes would see season ticket holders commuting between Southampton and London on South West Trains shelling out £3,465 from January instead of the current £3,332.

Reactions from passenger groups and business leaders make it seem unlikely the move will tempt many out of their cars and on to trains, an often stated government aim.

It is more likely to have the opposite effect spelling more misery for the south's motorists with more people set to hit the road.

Tim Nicholson, chairman of the Rail Passengers' Committee for Southern England, branded the increase unjustified in the wake of news that trains were not running on time and services were being cut.

He said: "The latest figures give us no encouragement at all. People are always saying it's going to get better but it hasn't yet.

"There's no justification in the rise either in performance terms or any other terms."

Figures released by train regulator the Strategic Rail Authority this week revealed only 80.5 per cent of trains nationally ran on time in the first three months this year, down from 80.9 per cent in 2002.

Services in the south were among the worst.

South West Trains' routes were 72.2 per cent on time, an improvement of one per cent on the same period the previous year.

Just under 76 per cent of South Central's trains were punctual, down around five per cent.

Cuts were wielded in May when South Central axed its 30 daily trains that ran from Southampton to Bournemouth.

It followed a directive from the Strategic Rail Authority as part of a national shake-up to reduce overcrowding on busy lines.

There are also plans to cancel scores of services in other parts of the country to ease pressure on the network.

Moves to remove the capping of long-distance fares currently in place come after Network Rail, Railtrack's replacement, claimed it needed £11 billion to maintain the railways up to 2006.

The current cap system on increasing ticket fares is based on the inflation rate, currently just under three per cent, minus one per cent, which will be replaced by inflation plus one per cent before being phased out completely by 2006.

Some fear companies may be able to charge what they wish on the main commuter routes after 2006.

Winchester MP Mark Oaten hit out at the changes.

It would mean commuters in his constituency having to hand over £3,120 for a season ticket to Waterloo instead of the current £2,988.

"Commuters in the south-east are suffering from a train service that is simply not delivering," he said.

"Almost three out of ten trains are delayed.

"Expecting people to pay four per cent more for train fares in the south-east is unacceptable.

"Services must improve before such price rises can be considered.

"There has been a huge amount of extra investment that has gone into the rail industry, but things don't seem to be improving and as usual the long suffering customers are being forced to pay."

Barry Watson, president of Southampton Chamber of Commerce, said: "For Chamber of Commerce members who are all local companies, this news flies in the face of business logic.

"Rail cannot prosper by announcing on one hand that their product got worse, and on the other, raising prices.

"At a time when it is crucial to our local economic prosperity that we encourage more people off the roads and on to trains, these increases will have exactly the opposite effect."

A spokesman for South West Trains said the national network needed a cash boost.

"The rail industry is crying out for investment. It's rightly the decision of the government as to whether that might come from the taxpayer or from passengers."

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, who announced the new fares in the House of Commons, said that all the rail industry, including the Rail Passengers' Council, had agreed that continuing to peg regulated fares below inflation was 'not sustainable'.

He added: "This was a difficult decision but it's essential to strike the right balance between the contribution from the farepayer and the contribution from the taxpayer."