It's terrible, and looking at the dividends given to shareholders by the ToCs, the extra profit is not being re-invested.
Also DfT have announced that they intend to reduce the railway's subsidy from 50% to 25%. They claims that they wish that the cost of the railway is paid for more by the farepayer then the taxpayer. However the truth is that the passenger farebox and freight revenue is more than paying for the railway costs and that the farepayer is, at the most optimistic view, subsidising the economy.
This is evident in the in the rising costs of running the railway since privatisation due to inefficiencies and private profits. Economists will claim that the inefficiencies result in a cash injection due the economy, and therefore defend privatisation. Unfortunately and unfairly, it is the passenger and the environment that ends up paying.
The fact is, rail fares no longer offer value for money, and haven't for years. Do your best to find ways to lower the costs, and save money, such as the eos has proposed. I myself am already trying to find ways to boycott the railway, and will be driving to school starting in February instead of the railway commute I have been doing for over 3 years.