Regulated rail fares will rise by 3.5% from January next year, following the release of July's inflation figures.
Under the formula, average fares in England and Wales are due to go up by July's RPI measure of inflation, plus 1%.
RPI - the Retail Prices Index - was 2.5% last month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Labour accused the government of 'ripping off' passengers, but the government defended the rise.
Regulated fares have increased by more than the rate of inflation in most years since 2004.
Such fares include season tickets, "anytime" single tickets around major cities, and off-peak inter-city return tickets.
But under a "flex" rule, train companies can raise fares by 2% above the average, as long as the overall average stays at RPI plus 1%.
As a result, some fares could increase by 4.5% next year.
'More to do'Labour said it would abolish the flex rule, and accused David Cameron of failing to stand up for working people.
"He's allowed train companies to sting passengers with inflation-busting fare rises of over 20% since 2010, costing them hundreds of pounds," said Mary Creagh, the shadow transport minister.
This year -2014- the government capped fare rises to keep them in line with inflation. But it is not known whether the same will happen in 2015.
The Department for Transport defended the rise.
"We fully recognise there's more to do to bring down the cost of rail travel in Britain," said Transport Secretary Patrick Mcloughlin.
"But we need to do it responsibly and we can't spend money we don't have," he said.
The Scottish Government has already said rail fares in 2015 will be capped at RPI - in other words at 2.5%.
'Phenomenal growth'News of next year's rise means that fares will have increased by about 25% since the coalition came to power in 2010, according to the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT).
But the government says it is committed to reducing public subsidies for the railways, and transferring more of the cost to passengers.
At the same time it wants to encourage investment.
Michael Roberts, director general of the industry body, the Rail Delivery Group, said that although rail fares had increased above inflation for a decade, the number of passengers had seen "phenomenal growth".
"Compared with fifteen years ago, we're now carrying twice as many passengers as we did then," he said. But he added that rail services were partly a "victim of that success" because there was now overcrowding on some major services.
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