A £5,000 season ticket could cost up to £100 more in January due to a rise in inflation.

Figures released today show the Retail Price Index (RPI) went up 1.9% last month, which could mean a corresponding rise in regulated rail fares.

Regulated rail fares, which includes season tickets, are capped against the RPI and commuters may see the increase at the beginning of next year.

The rise in inflation is being put down to things like the increasing cost of fuel.

It means an annual season ticket from Canterbury to London will go up by £97, from £5,128 to £5,215.

An annual season ticket to London from Rochester will increase from £3,912 to £3,986 - up £74.

Whether beleaguered Southern Rail will increase ticket prices is not clear, as the government will have the final say.

A spokesman for the rail company said: "The GTR franchise operates as a management contract with all ticket revenue passing directly to the government.

"Decisions regarding pricing therefore rest with them."

Answering on behalf of Southeastern, the Rail Delivery Group which represents train operators and Network Rail, sent a very similar response to last year.

In a statement, Paul Plummer, Chief Executive, said: “Nobody wants to pay more to travel to work and at the moment in some areas people aren't getting the service they are paying for, and we know how frustrating that is.

"But increases to season tickets are set by government. For every pound paid in fares, 97p goes back into running and improving services and it’s our job to make sure that money is spent well.

"We need to sustain investment to build a modern railway, and money from fares helps us to do this, which is crucial with rail now more important to our nation's prosperity than at any time since the Victorian era. In many places our railway is full, with passenger numbers having doubled in two decades, and we know passengers and the country need better services."

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) also rose in July by a more modest 0.6%.

The CPI looks at the price of 700 products people regularly spend money on, and has found alcoholic drinks have also risen in price.