A Rail passenger claims people in Bicester travelling to London are being ripped off by ticket price anomalies.

Howard Allen has found out that separate rail fares are considerably less than the return journey price from Bicester to London

Howard Allen's job involves travelling to London several times a month, but he has discovered if he buys separate tickets the fare is £5.20 cheaper.

Mr Allen, a chartered quantity surveyor, was paying £30.80 for a peak-hour travelcard from Bicester North to London, including central London tube and bus travel.

But after a visit to his head office in High Wycombe, Mr Allen discovered he could buy a travelcard from High Wycombe to London for £17.80 and a return rail ticket from High Wycombe to Bicester for £7.80 -- a total cost of £25.60.

To add insult to injury Mr Allen, 55, later discovered a special offer at Haddenham & Thame Parkway which would reduce the total fare to £23.40.

He was told people could buy separate tickets, provided the train stopped at the intermediate station.

Mr Allen, of Mullein Road, Bicester, said he had taken his complaint to Chiltern Railways and the London Transport Users' Committee, but received no response. He said: "I think this is an absolute scandal that they should charge £30.80 for the same journey I can get for £23.40.

"This is ripping the people of Bicester off and flying in the face of Government policy to use public transport rather than making journeys by car. Why should I pay more than another?"

A Chiltern Railways spokesman said the fare was appropriate for the journey.

He said: "Chiltern Railways is aware of an anomaly on fares between Bicester North and London. These sorts of fare anomalies occur frequently across the national rail network and also existed under British Railways before privatisation.

"They are the result of a complicated fares structure which has to offer a wide range of tickets to meet different passenger needs.

"Chiltern Railways believes its quoted peak time fare from Bicester North to London is the appropriate fare for the journey."

He said the Association of Train Operating Companies was working with its members and the Strategic Rail Authority to simplify the fare structure across the rail network.