THE government was urged to ditch “parasitic” private contracts today after it emerged that regulated train fares in England could soar by 5.8 per cent next year.

This year fares went up 4.6 per cent — one point higher than last July’s retail prices index (RPI).

If the same formula is used again, fares will rise by 5.8 per cent next year as RPI hit 4.8 per cent last month.

The Department for Transport said that no decisions have yet been made on next year’s fares.

The government is set to renationalise all train operators by 2027 and integrate them into Great British Railways, a new public body which will also oversee rail infrastructure.

However GBR will continue to lease rolling stock, carriages and locomotives, from private firms. Outsourced contracts, such as those for cleaning staff, are also set to remain.

A spokesperson for rail union RMT said: “Our analysis shows that £720 million is extracted each year from our railways through rolling stock leasing, outsourcing and subcontracting.

“Eliminating that profiteering would allow fares to be cut by 6.5 per cent.

“The government has an opportunity under GBR to remove these parasitic contracts that drain resources from the network and instead offer real value for money for passengers through public ownership.”

Director of We Own It Cat Hobbs said: “Fares must go down, not up — a fare hike of any kind at this point would be outrageous.”

She added: “The government should stop private profits flowing out from ongoing ‘open access’ contracts on our railway.

“And it should set up Great British Trains so that we can directly own our own trains instead of millions being wasted on private rolling stock companies.”

The Office of Rail and Road has continued to approve open access operators, which are private operators that apply for and run trains on publicly owned tracks without any contractual agreement with the government.

Government analysis estimated that they could undercut the revenues of publicly owned operators by around £229m per year.