Another price hike for rail users

Semple

Semple

Semple

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Not sure if this has already been posted.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28842633

Looks like we're set for another price hike on rail fares.

I've already cut down on daily use of the train by driving to work as that works out slightly cheaper. Regular price rises are going to start turning more people to the road making them even busier.

Personally if there was a reliable service and without the worry of not getting a seat on a service then I'd happily pay the extra. But the few routes that I travel regularly across the UK have seen little improvement, equipment and trains constantly malfunctioning.
 
Meh, it all goes on the company card.

Hikes like these cause a lot of people to start calling for nationalisation of rail again.
What I don't get though, is that it says a mere 3% of cost is due to private sector profits. Surely then the reason we are paying so much is because the overall management of the rail system is crap? i.e. Network rail, a non-for-profit company, and the public sector bodies that oversea it all? How would nationalisation actually help?
 
Trains near me are utterly awful. However when I used the tube in London for the first time I was really impressed. Expensive none the less though.
 
I had to travel from Edinburgh to Leeds for a hospital appointment and it cost me a 100 quid for a 6 hour round trip. Now this is the first time I have been on a train for twenty or so years and I could not believe how cramped and uncomfortable the trains had become.

Never again. Next time I will hire a car.
 
Judgeneo said:
Meh, it all goes on the company card.

Hikes like these cause a lot of people to start calling for nationalisation of rail again.
What I don't get though, is that it says a mere 3% of cost is due to private sector profits. Surely then the reason we are paying so much is because the overall management of the rail system is crap? i.e. Network rail, a non-for-profit company, and the public sector bodies that oversea it all? How would nationalisation actually help?
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A lot of people have been calling for nationalisation for quite some time now. But you're right, not only would that mean the government managing the company that run the trains, but they'd also need to manage the company the controls the infrastructure of UK rail. Which would just result in them subcontracting a private company anyway.

There was an interesting comment I had read earlier. The train companies should be forced to reveal the breakdown in costs for why they need to increase the fares. I think most would be quite shocked at how little the extra they're paying will actually contribute to improving UK rail.
 
Kronos said:
I had to travel from Edinburgh to Leeds for a hospital appointment and it cost me a 100 quid for a 6 hour round trip. Now this is the first time I have been on a train for twenty or so years and I could not believe how cramped and uncomfortable the trains had become.

Never again. Next time I will hire a car.
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Sounds steep! A mate of mine spend £60 for the same route on Wednesday last week. He bought on the day too.

You do get the best deals if you book as early as possible. Obviously you were unable to do this. It cost me £24 return Crewe - Edinburgh. I checked the price on the day of travelling and they wanted upwards of £70 for the same route (cant remember the exact cost). The disparity is crazy.
 
topgun06 said:
Sounds steep! A mate of mine spend £60 for the same route on Wednesday last week. He bought on the day too.

You do get the best deals if you book as early as possible. Obviously you were unable to do this. It cost me £24 return Crewe - Edinburgh. I checked the price on the day of travelling and they wanted upwards of £70 for the same route (cant remember the exact cost). The disparity is crazy.
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My mistake on the price.

I did book well in advance and used these train ticket price comparison sites and it came to £84.50 on East Coast railways.
 
Kronos said:
I had to travel from Edinburgh to Leeds for a hospital appointment and it cost me a 100 quid for a 6 hour round trip. Now this is the first time I have been on a train for twenty or so years and I could not believe how cramped and uncomfortable the trains had become.

Never again. Next time I will hire a car.
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Not a crosscountry train by any chance? I use FGW trains on a daily basis and they're generally running fine and with seats. Crosscountry however are terrible, I travel from Bristol upto Manchester on a fortnightly basis. I can honestly say in the 5 years or so I've been catching that service it's never run at less than maximum capacity.
 
Semple said:
Not a crosscountry train by any chance? I use FGW trains on a daily basis and they're generally running fine and with seats. Crosscountry however are terrible, I travel from Bristol upto Manchester on a fortnightly basis. I can honestly say in the 5 years or so I've been catching that service it's never run at less than maximum capacity.
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It will have been an XC Voyager I'd imagine - terrible things. Only 4 or 5 coaches long depending on variant (and one of those coaches is First), noisy underfloor diesel engines and limited legroom. They are almost always at capacity - something which is dealt with by simply trying to price off as many people as possible, fare flows which XC control are notorious as being some of the most overpriced in the country.

If I was going to Leeds from Edinburgh I'd have taken East Coast to York and changed over a direct Cross Country.
 
arknor said:
is it cheaper to get a plane from the north > south yet?
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Yes, if you compare apples with pears as most people making that argument do.

Amusingly they never seem to think about how much a zero notice fully flexible walk-on airline ticket might cost them.

A fully flexible return ticket for today on British Airways from London to Manchester, for example, will cost you...


....£537.56.
 
Semple said:
There was an interesting comment I had read earlier. The train companies should be forced to reveal the breakdown in costs for why they need to increase the fares. I think most would be quite shocked at how little the extra they're paying will actually contribute to improving UK rail.
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northern rail dont. they make around £30 million a year profit. the only reason they need to bang up prices is to keep the current profit margin i think. as they dont buy new rolling stock and beg and borrow old stock. total shambles really.

what they should do is get a franchise for 20-30 years and be made to reinvest would solve a lot of issues.
 
arknor said:
is it cheaper to get a plane from the north > south yet?
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I fly quite regularly Southampton to Manchester. Usually costs around £40 each way, plus £7 for the 40 min train journey from the airport to Warrington. Train costs £69.30 return with a third off, but takes 4-5 hours compared to 45 minutes on the plane.
 
If only they'd spend some money on rail infrastructure.

Rail infrastructure that isn't HS2, I mean. :p What a tremendous waste of money that's going to be.
 
MichaelAwkward said:
I fly quite regularly Southampton to Manchester. Usually costs around £40 each way, plus £7 for the 40 min train journey from the airport to Warrington. Train costs £69.30 return with a third off, but takes 4-5 hours compared to 45 minutes on the plane.
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Now lets compare like with like.

Your £69.30 return ticket is a flexible return ticket - you can cancel it for an almost complete refund. You can use any train you wish. You can come back on any day you want, with zero notice, within a 30 day period. You can take a nice big bag.

You can do none of these things with an £80 return air fare on FlyBe. You will need a ticket costing more than £200 if you wish to have more flexibility, thought it's still restrictive.

Restrictive Advance Purchase fares between Southampton and Manchester start at £19.20 in Standard Class (Before your 30% off) and £48 in First Class, each way.

So no, the plane isn't cheaper.
 
You could always move closer to where you work you know.

I have sympathy for people who need to use a train as a one off to get to a hospital appointment but little for those that choose to work in high paying areas like London whilst living in lower cost areas.
 
estebanrey said:
You could always move closer to where you work you know.

I have sympathy for people who need to use a train as a one off to get to a hospital appointment but little for those that choose to work in high paying areas like London whilst living in lower cost areas.
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I'll never let work dictate where I live.

I love where I'm moving to. Yes the train ticket will be expensive but vs the quality of life and the enjoyment I'll get it's a non issue. It's sickening, but it's a non issue. :)
 
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