NORTH Essex commuters will see an average increase to their annual rail fare of 3.1 per cent from January.

The Rail Delivery Group, which published the price rises on behalf of the industry this morning, said they are in line with Retail Prices Index figures released in July.

In Colchester, that means a rail season ticket will increase from £4,556 per year to £4,690 - a 2.72 per cent rise.

Commuters in Clacton will see a 4.1 per cent rise, from £4,948 to £5,152m while in Harwich the increase will be 4.07 per cent, from £5,104 to £5,312.

Manningtree commuters pay £5,060 at the moment. Their fares will rise to £5,232 - an increase of 3.4 per cent.

The majority of the rises will take place on January 2.