As train fares rise, my ruses to keep ticket prices down.

I’ve spent my entire life travelling by train, writes the carless Simon Calder, and I Tay not to pay a penny more than I need

- Simon Calder

Despite today's rail fare rise in England and Wales, train tickets can be excellent value. That might sound absurd to longsuffering passengers enduring delays and cancellations. But I have never owned a car and always rely on railways. And I never want to pay a penny more than necessary.

Some background: fares have just gone up by more than the rate of inflation in England and Wales. The rise of “regulated fares” is 4.6 per cent, significantly above the current rate of inflation of 3 per cent. (In Scotland, ticket prices go up 3.8 per cent on 1 April.) These are for “regulated” fares: season tickets, journeys in and out of major cities, and longer-distance off-peak fares. The government has prescribed that the off-peak one-way fare from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston has gone up by £2.50 to £79.80.

At the other end of the scale, advance tickets are set according to demand, and because – like airfares – they fluctuate, it’s difficult to say whether they are increasing and if so by how much. In between, you have many other fares that are unregulated but have risen by about the same percentage – including what I think is the most expensive stretch of track in the UK apart from the Heathrow Express. The 24-mile trip on the Great Western Railway from Didcot Parkway to Swindon increases by £1.40 to £32.60 at peak times – well over £1 a mile.

The government’s justification for putting prices up above the rate of inflation is that rail finances are in such a mess. The presumption is that the formidable cost of running the railways can only come from two sources: passengers’ fares and the taxpayer.