Train travel prices

[Ormorof]

anyone else think its become ridiculously expensive to travel by train?

im going to a wedding in may in Ireland and parents offered me place with them in car etc as they driving there, however for that i would need to get home first, which would cost £58.50 return with a young persons railcard... (god knows how much more without it) now for a 200 odd mile journey that doesnt seem too bad... but ive not worked out its cheaper for me to get a bus to manchester and fly there myself! return! surely if they want to stop people using airtravel and encourage people to use more eco-friendly trains then they would make it cheaper!!

/rantmode off

 

[Sparx]

i 100% agree

 

[Cadelin]

You can book train tickets in advance nowadays and they should be as little as £10 each way although you would have to get a train at a certain time.

People often compare trains and plane tickets wrongly. The £58.50 you quote means you can get on any train where as for plane you have to book in advance and can only travel on a certain plane. Also if you pick a popular flight you won't get a cheap ticket even if it is in advance because the plane company knows it will sell out and make more money.

 

[Chronictank]

You can book train tickets in advance nowadays and they should be as little as £10 each way although you would have to get a train at a certain time.

People often compare trains and plane tickets wrongly. The £58.50 you quote means you can get on any train where as for plane you have to book in advance and can only travel on a certain plane. Also if you pick a popular flight you won't get a cheap ticket even if it is in advance because the plane company knows it will sell out and make more money.

Not strictly true
You can buy standby tickets where if the plane is not full you get a seat, the same as trains

It is actually cheaper for me to drive to work, i just cba with the hassel of finding parking

 

[Cromcruaich]

The rail system is a national disgrace. Weve got the tories to thank for that, but its been snouts at the trough for the private companies ever since.

 

[Cadelin]

Not strictly true
You can buy standby tickets where if the plane is not full you get a seat, the same as trains

What I said is true. Most of the time there may well be a few spaces on the plane but if the plane is full they won't let you travel.

If you want to compare prices you need to do it with tickets that are similar in their flexibility.

 

[Maeloch]

Don't get me started. The 8 minute journal from watford to harrow costs £6 single, fucking ridiculous. If I want to go back home to Grimsby, it's 70 quid return (from london). Up to scotland is 100+ quid. If I go back home and get on the train with the wrong ticket, it's 150 quid (they change full fare if u have to buy another ticket on the train.). Thought public transport was supposed to be for the poor.

 

[Keitan]

Don't get me started. The 8 minute journal from watford to harrow costs £6 single, fucking ridiculous. If I want to go back home to Grimsby, it's 70 quid return (from london). Up to scotland is 100+ quid. If I go back home and get on the train with the wrong ticket, it's 150 quid (they change full fare if u have to buy another ticket on the train.). Thought public transport was supposed to be for the poor.

ye.... i was on a 6 hour train journey once... and ALL THE dam way there... it was full... so we had to stand up on a train for 6 hours straight....

 

[Ormorof]

What I said is true. Most of the time there may well be a few spaces on the plane but if the plane is full they won't let you travel.

If you want to compare prices you need to do it with tickets that are similar in their flexibility.

booking a return allows me to travel on only one train and gives me a grand total saving of nothing if i want to travel directly or if i take the longer route of changing trains i can save about £5-10 depending on the day, HOWEVER i have had lots of problems with this in the past due to missing the connecting trains as its not a particularly reliable service either!

 

[Ezteq]

yes...

and busses suck too!

 

[haarewin]

i fucking hate public transport in this country. except the tube in london, which is actually very good in my experience (at least compared to the shambles that is bristols bus system and trains in and out of the city)
i'm lucky in that if i ever have to catch the train for work (not that often tbh) they book an open ticket for me and pay for it in advance so no money comes out of my pockets for it.
how come some countries can have absolutely fantastic public transport but ours fails so spectacularly? probably because ours is privatised and monopolised.

 

[Fafnir]

I just find its funny that its cheaper to travel by plane than by train. Its a hard choice i want to travel somewhere do i want to pay 50 euro and have 8h travel time or pay 20 euro and have 1h travel time including checkin/checkout. Such a hard choice.

 

[Maeloch]

ye.... i was on a 6 hour train journey once... and ALL THE dam way there... it was full... so we had to stand up on a train for 6 hours straight....

This is pretty much the default situtation on mainline services at peak time. Going back home for the weekend, between kings cross and doncaster I can't remember ever having a seat over some years, but to be fair I won't even bother looking for one anymore.

You can always spot the railtravel noobs at these times - they're the ones looking for a seat! roffle! Stop moving between the fuckign carriages ffs, you think we're all stood here for the good of our health!

how come some countries can have absolutely fantastic public transport but ours fails so spectacularly? probably because ours is privatised and monopolised.

I don't understand the economics, and I really wish some would explain to me both the prices and why anyone thought a privatized monopoly on the various lines was a good idea. The worst of both worlds.

There's room for a really good piece of journalism here. I'd love to see a long documentary explaining to the layman why railsways are run like they are, no moaning, just giving us a clue, it all seems insane and to the casual observerer - driving punters off the railways and rackeetering the ones who stay there.

 

[Cemeterygates]

anyone else think its become ridiculously expensive to travel by train?

im going to a wedding in may in Ireland and parents offered me place with them in car etc as they driving there, however for that i would need to get home first, which would cost £58.50 return with a young persons railcard... (god knows how much more without it) now for a 200 odd mile journey that doesnt seem too bad... but ive not worked out its cheaper for me to get a bus to manchester and fly there myself! return! surely if they want to stop people using airtravel and encourage people to use more eco-friendly trains then they would make it cheaper!!

/rantmode off

the truth of it is though....they don't give a fuck about the eco-friendly low carbon footprint shit...they just want teh moneh!

 

[AngelHeal]

anyone else think its become ridiculously expensive to travel by train?

im going to a wedding in may in Ireland and parents offered me place with them in car etc as they driving there, however for that i would need to get home first, which would cost £58.50 return with a young persons railcard... (god knows how much more without it) now for a 200 odd mile journey that doesnt seem too bad... but ive not worked out its cheaper for me to get a bus to manchester and fly there myself! return! surely if they want to stop people using airtravel and encourage people to use more eco-friendly trains then they would make it cheaper!!

/rantmode off

train in holland is freeeeeeeeeeeee (for students)

anyway's.. train is not expensive, it's wayyy cheaper then by car
(+ flying from amsterdam = not safe anyways)