Commuters travelling from St Albans to St Pancras pay one of the highest sums per mile across the rail network.

When the 1.9 per cent increase in season tickets comes into effect next year, peak-time travellers from the city into London will pay £3,383 for an annual ticket - the equivalent of 37p per mile.

Yet in other parts of the country, such as from rail stations in Worcester into Birmingham, commuters pay 11p per mile to travel.

The figures have emerged in a BBC investigation which shows that commuters spend more than a tenth of disposable income on annual rail tickets with some paying almost 40p per mile and others paying only 11p per mile.

The report is based on a Campaign for Better Transport list of the most commonly used commuter services in six major cities with the BBC analysis looking at full-time workers using an annual season ticket five days a week..

The current annual season ticket cost for commuters in 2016 is £2,446 and after the 1.9 per cent increase due in January 2017, that will rise to £2,493 - considerably less than St Albans commuters pay.

James MacColl, head of campaigns at the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Fares are so high for some routes that season tickets now make up a big proportion of household expenditure for many commuters.”