Whenever the annual rail fare increases are announced, there is a predictable uproar from commuters about the soaring cost of their season tickets, overcrowded and dirty trains. There are equally predictable responses from the rail companies and government, which typically involve future investment plans and a statement about rail journeys ‘being cheaper than ever in real terms’.

But spare a thought for poor business travellers – well, somebody has to stand up for them. The headlines every year usually focus on the cost of rail tickets regulated by the government, typically season tickets used by commuters and those for off-peak discount travel. This year, this category of fares is going up by an average of 6% - the most they are allowed to by the government (RPI plus 1%).

Yet unregulated fares – which cover all other sorts of rail travel - are going up by 7%. In fact, on one franchise – CrossCountry – unregulated fares are going up by an average of 11%. Of course, average rises often hide much higher increases on specific routes and at specific times.

It is business travellers, often forced to take peak trains so they can get there and back in a day to avoid the cost of a hotel, that bear the brunt of these fare increases year in, year out. For companies and organisations whose travellers use travel by train regularly, the fare increases have the same effect as raising corporation tax.

This results in bizarre situations. A return in standard class from Newcastle to London on National Express East Coast this coming Thursday, taking a train that gets into Kings Cross at around 9am, costs £249. A return flight on Easyjet from Newcastle to Stansted on the same day costs £124.98 – half the price. Even taking into account the cost of a ticket on the Stansted Express into Liverpool Street, the flight is still far cheaper.

Although I am a firm believer in rail travel for many reasons – ability to work, airport avoidance and green credentials, for example – there will come a point when this annual ritual of ripping off business travellers to subsidise commuters will become too much to bear.