RAIL passengers across southern England, including those using the Portsmouth to London line, are subsidising rail services elsewhere in the UK a survey has revealed.

The survey found that in the year 2016 to 2017 South West Trains (SWT) passengers paid 16.6p per mile more than the service cost to run, an overpayment totalling £662m.

Passengers on Southern trains paid 10.5p per mile more than the cost of running their service.

At the same time services in northern England, Scotland and Wales received subsidies of up to more than 40p per mile.

The analysis by the Southern Policy Centre reveals how the burden of paying for the UK rail system falls unfairly on passengers in central southern England.

Professor John Denham, of the Southern Policy Centre, said: “Rail passengers in the south are being forced to subsidise rail services across the rest of England, Scotland and Wales.

“There may well be a good case for subsidising some services, but surely the cost should fall on taxpayers as a whole, not just on one group of passengers.

“If local passengers were treated fairly, the cost of their season ticket would be falling, not rising.”