TRAIN operators were last night accused of driving passengers off the railways with exorbitant fares and chaotic ticketing structures.

A damning report by MPs said the companies had brought the industry into disrepute with their "single-minded" pursuit of profits. It said passengers were held to ransom by companies that took a "see what they could get away with" approach.

The report, by the House of Commons all-party transport committee, also condemned GNER for keeping plans for inflation-busting fare increases of 8.8 per cent - the highest in the country - secret from its inquiry, which looked at the cost of national rail travel.

The East Coast Main Line operator was branded irresponsible after its officials appeared before the committee to give evidence, but said nothing of the fare rise - which was announced a week later.

GNER was said to have app-eared to "deliberately chosen to wait" until after the hearing in November to unveil its plans.

But GNER said: "None of the witnesses were asked within the short time available to us about the fare increases, which are always announced in December."

A spokesman for the company also pointed out that it will pay £1.3bn back to the Government over ten years, and described its profits - fixed at under four per cent - as a very modest return.

In their report, MPs castigated the "complacency" of the Government for failing to ensure value for money for the £87m-a-week of taxpayers' money pouring into the rail network.

They said: "Passengers are being held to ransom by a system which is deeply flawed. Neither they nor taxpayers are getting value for their money. The situation is deeply unacceptable."

The report was particularly critical of sharp rises in fares for open tickets bought on the day of travel, which, it said, were now absurdly high. It also described a "deeply fragmented and highly complex" array of tickets offered by train companies as an "insult to the passenger".

The report concludes: "Such behaviour has brought not only individual train operators, but the passenger railways in general, into disrepute."

Brian Milnes, chairman of the Tees Valley branch of pro-trains group Transport 2000, said: "Since privatisation, a lot of off-peak fares have got more limited and more complicated.

"There are still some very good bargains to be found on certain trains at certain times, but unless you understand the way it all works, or have access to the Internet and can sit at a computer for hours, it can be very difficult to get hold of them.

"It should be possible to turn up at a station, get on a train, and get access to as many of the cheapest fares as possible."

Mr Milnes added: "Some of our ticket prices are among the highest in Europe.

"In Holland, tickets cost half the price. Single fares in particular are very expensive if you want to travel at peak times to big city destinations."

Association of Train Operating Companies director general George Muir said: "This report calls for cutting rail fares, but without having the courage to admit the huge increase in subsidy this would mean.

"As for fares complexity and the other things the report complains about, we acknowledge that there are issues to address - but this report is completely over the top."