It is cheaper to fly than to take the train on more than half the popular intercity routes in Britain

A survey done by Telegraph Travel on 50 routes across the country showed that of the 24 journeys that could be done by either plane or train, rail was the more expensive option on 13 of them. In some cases, the cost of a train ticket was almost double the airfare.

On the route from London to Edinburgh, the paper found that the cheapest rail fare it could get was  £121.40 while buying a fare  at short notice on easyJet would cost £111 or £63 if bought in advance. The same journey would cost around £50 by coach.

Coach travel was shown to be the cheapest mode of transport on 47 of the 50 routes surveyed, while travelling by car cost less than the train on 16 routes.

The findings fly in the face of the government’s push to dissuade people from using domestic flights instead of “greener” rail transport.

Rail fares in the UK are soon  to rise between 5% and 10%.

British passenger trains are already among the world’s most expensive, beaten only by Japan which currently holds the title for having the world's most expensive train travel.