GNER was condemned today for keeping plans for inflation-busting fare increases - the highest in the country - secret from a committee of MPs.

The all-party transport committee branded the rail firm "irresponsible" after it failed to tell its inquiry into the cost of train travel that its fares were about to soar by 8.8%.

GNER was called to give evidence to the committee last November, but said nothing. One week later the fare rise - three times the rate of inflation - was announced.

The committee's report, published yesterday, said it appeared GNER "deliberately chose to wait" until after the hearing to unveil the higher fares.

It added: "If so, this was both unhelpful and irresponsible. Our hearing was an excellent opportunity for the train operators to debate the grounds of their pricing structure and any further price increases.

"Instead, they chose short-term presentational gain over transparency and credibility. We find this behaviour immature and disappointing."

But the criticism was rejected by GNER, which insisted: "Within the short time available to us, none of the witnesses were asked about the fare increases, which are always announced in December."

The attack on GNER formed part of a damning report, which accused train operators of driving passengers off the railways with "exorbitant" fares and "chaotic" ticketing structures.

The companies had brought the whole industry into disrepute with their "single-minded" pursuit of profits, the MPs said.

The report described a system where passengers were "held to ransom" by companies who took a "see how much we can get away with" approach to their customers.

The government was also heavily criticised for failing to ensure value for money for the £87m of taxpayers' money pumped into the rail network every week.

Only much better regulation of the train operators could achieve a significant shift from road to rail - a move essential to cut damaging greenhouse gas emissions.

The report concluded: "The privatised industry has had more than a decade to get fares and ticketing right and it has proven incapable of doing so.

"Passengers are held to ransom by a system that is deeply flawed. Neither passengers nor taxpayers are getting value for their money. The situation is deeply unacceptable."

The committee was particularly critical of the sharp rises in fares for open tickets bought on the day of travel, which, it said, were now "absurdly high".

Meanwhile, bemused passengers are faced with up to a dozen ticket options, with "subtly different conditions and restrictions", and often sold under different names.

In a statement, GNER pointed out that it will pay £1.3bn back to the government over ten years and described its profits - fixed at under 4% - as a "very modest return".

During last November's evidence session, chief executive Christopher Garnett admitted he struggled to buy a ticket on his own company's website because it was so complicated.