Off-peak rail fares are "higher in the UK than anywhere else in Europe", the Liberal Democrats have said.
The party looked at "anytime" single rail tickets across Europe. It found that in Britain, £10 only takes travellers an average of 26 miles. In comparison, £10 in Serbia provides 512 miles of rail travel.
The Lib Dems said even with an off-peak return ticket in Britain, £10 only buys 56 miles of travel on the railways, making Britain's off-peak returns more expensive than single tickets in more than half of European countries.
Lib Dem transport spokesman Norman Baker said: "There can be no doubt that British rail passengers are being ripped off. Nowhere else in Europe are passengers taken advantage of in this way.
"In Serbia, £10 will take you almost the distance between London and the Swiss Alps, while an English ticket will take you only as far as Basildon."
He went on: "It seems ministers don't give a damn about rail passengers, with inflation-busting fare rises that will force some travellers to swap the train for the car - and every indication that this will only get worse.
"The Government has got transport policy upside down, with more polluting forms of travel regularly cheaper than more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
"Ministers are putting a huge amount of effort into forcing through an environmentally disastrous third runway at Heathrow while ignoring the plight of rail passengers."
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