A rail company which is causing misery to thousands of commuters will receive more than £600 million from the Government.

The owners of Southern Railway, Govia, will receive yearly instalments of up to £109 million from the Department for Transport during its seven-year franchise, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The information was obtained by Sussex Rail Action, which has accused the rail companies of profiteering at passengers expense.

The group says the company is ripping off passengers and taxpayers, after annual accounts revealed the revenue of GoAhead Group, one part of Govia, rose to £1.4 billion by June 2008 and operating profits last year rose 16% to £77 million.

Members have written to Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon urging him to cut the company's public subsidy as a result of its poor performance.

The group has asked Mr Hoon to force Southern to improve its performance immediately and establish a £10 million compensation fund to provide refunds for passengers on badly delayed journeys.

It is also urging the Government to strip the company of its franchise when it is reviewed later this year.

Matthew Palmer, from Horsham, a founder of Sussex Rail Action, said: "It's unbelievable that the Government is going to give £670 million of taxpayers money to Southern to run a failing rail service, particularly as the owners are making record profits of over £77 million.

"This is a huge rail rip-off and Govia the owners of Southern are profiteering at the passengers expense."

Commuter Nick Child, from Worthing, said: "While everyone else is cutting their costs during the recession, the rail companies continue to put up their fares.

"Southern will increase its fares by 6% this year, well ahead of inflation and totally out of order for the shocking service it delivers to customers."

A spokeswoman for Southern said: All rail franchises have been assisted by government subsidy for many years.

"Southern's subsidy was agreed at the beginning of the franchise and has paid for a new fleet of trains, depot upgrades and a comprehensive station improvement programme, including many other safety and security initiatives."

If you are fed up with rail poor services, sign our Save Our Service petition at theargus.co.uk/saveourservice