Rail fares

[stefanovic]

Up by nearly 3% today.
So what can you get for under £200?
Newcastle to Bristol single is £166. Leeds to Portsmouth is a snip at £144 single walk on fare, but don't assume you'll have a seat and you will have to change.
If you want to travel between Penzance and Wick the website doesn't even quote a fare. That's because you could have up to 6 changes and National Rail's fare algorithm can't cope.
Try going 1st class from Newquay to Kyle of Lochalsh and not only could it cost you more than £1000 but it's not possible to travel 1st class all the way.
No wonder the car is still king.

 

[Imurg]

Years ago, one of the motoring mags looked at getting 2 people from London to Glasgow
I cant remember the numbers but it was cheaper to buy a banger with a months tax and not, insure it and negotiate a months roadside recovery, fill it with fuel, drive up there and abandon it than the cost of 2 single rail tickets
Times haven't changed much...

 

[bobmac]

Up by nearly 3% today.
So what can you get for under £200?
Newcastle to Bristol single is £166. Leeds to Portsmouth is a snip at £144 single walk on fare, but don't assume you'll have a seat and you will have to change.
If you want to travel between Penzance and Wick the website doesn't even quote a fare. That's because you could have up to 6 changes and National Rail's fare algorithm can't cope.
Try going 1st class from Newquay to Kyle of Lochalsh and not only could it cost you more than £1000 but it's not possible to travel 1st class all the way.
No wonder the car is still king.

I'm sure there are cheaper fares depending when you're travelling.
Newcastle to Bristol RETURN can be £151

 

[Deleted member 18121]

My annual ticket is £6180.....I did briefly look at Jetski, but the thames barrier would prove tricky so I'm told.

 

[bobmac]

Easyjet is £84 RETURN.
An hours flight

 

[robinthehood]

The cheapest way for my son to join us in Cornwall last year was to fly from Heathrow to Newquay for 48 quid.
I'd say the rail fares example is the on the day price . You can get some real bargains booking in advance

 

[Wolf]

Rail prices are beyond affordable for many that need to travel nowadays. Recently had to travel back down to Rochester from Lincoln by train. It cost me £129 for a one way ticket for a 2 1/2 hr journey. I do the same journey twice a month by there and by car for under £80 including toll roads.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

Up by nearly 3% today.
So what can you get for under £200?
Newcastle to Bristol single is £166. Leeds to Portsmouth is a snip at £144 single walk on fare, but don't assume you'll have a seat and you will have to change.
If you want to travel between Penzance and Wick the website doesn't even quote a fare. That's because you could have up to 6 changes and National Rail's fare algorithm can't cope.
Try going 1st class from Newquay to Kyle of Lochalsh and not only could it cost you more than £1000 but it's not possible to travel 1st class all the way.
No wonder the car is still king.

Our rail service is even worse. Mostly because we have a lot less of it. And our petrol is much cheaper than yours because it's not so highly taxed, so everybody drives if they don't fly.
But I wish we had good rail. I hate the TSA crap on the airlines. Air Travel was more pleasant in the US sixty years ago than it is now.
I wish that there were good rail service everywhere. Then I'd rent a car at my destination if I really needed one.

 

[IanM]

Needs serious looking at..... you can get charged several different prices depending on where you book, the differentiation between advance and on the day is too large, you get different prices depending on if you book end to end or break up the journey.............and there needs to be an incentive to get folk out of their cars!

Local example... train between Cardiff and Bristol in the morning is packed as too few carriages on it. Since tolls removed from Bridges, more folk drive as train is unpleasant and not cheap

If I get train to Southampton for work... booked in advance £15 single... on the day £55. Takes roughly same time as driving somehow!

 

[robinthehood]

If youre making long train journeys take a look at split ticketing.
Basically multiple ticket for one journey, you dont have to get off the train.
For example your journey might start in peak time, but a lot of it may run into off peak, so you only have peak for the first bit and get off peak for the rest.

The rail companies are supposed to be doing something to address this (offer split ticketing) but i wont hold my breath.

probably easier to google it

 

[Lord Tyrion]

If youre making long train journeys take a look at split ticketing.
Basically multiple ticket for one journey, you dont have to get off the train.
For example your journey might start in peak time, but a lot of it may run into off peak, so you only have peak for the first bit and get off peak for the rest.

The rail companies are supposed to be doing something to address this (offer split ticketing) but i wont hold my breath.

probably easier to google it

The issue is that you shouldn't have to box clever, spend an hour looking at the options etc to get an affordable ticket. It's plain wrong. They've been talking about simplifying tickets for years but it isn't in their interests so I can't see it happening soon, sad to say.

I had to do Newcastle to Bath last year. It was significantly cheaper to fly and catch a bus then to get the train. That can't be right.

 

[stefanovic]

Needs serious looking at..... you can get charged several different prices depending on where you book,

And there are 55,000,000 different rail fares in Britain.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/55-million-different-types-train-12497372

This is crazy. You will feel like a mug if you pay full price, get on a train and then talk to a fellow passenger who has paid a fraction of what you have been charged. I've heard such a conversation.
It's not only Northern Rail which is in a bad way. West Midlands Railway is appalling. You're lucky if the train isn't delayed or cancelled and arrives with sufficient carriages to get a seat. A couple of years ago when it was London Midland it was fine.

 

[Kellfire]

As someone who uses Northern Rail regularly, I’m very glad to see they’re going to lose their rights to operate our services. It’s standard practice to be stood waiting for an 8.30am train only for the cancellation to be announced at 8.32am.