Train ticket prices

[Chippy_boy]

60% of our railway is owned by state owned companies in any case, just not our state. Having travelled throughout Europe on trains they are a lot cheaper than ours, run on time, the trains are cleaner and their stations are better equipped.

Agree with all of that, but how much is the state subsidy in those countries? Do you think that might have something to do with it?

 

[ob]

It is somewhat ridiculous that I can get a flight from Liverpool to Sofia for less than it will cost me to catch the train from here in Nantwich to the airport in the first place. Robbing bastards.

I'm going to stag do in Liverpool in April, was cheaper for me to fly London-Dublin-Liverpool than get direct train, I managed to find a route via Birmingham

 

[hawkhurst]

I think you're coming at it from the wrong angle. Why should the public sector run any services, unless there's a public interest in doing so? If there is a public interest, like the police or army for example, then sure. But if there is not, then why should the state run it? Why would you care?

Selling off state-owned businesses has raised £100bn+ for the exchequer, which in turn has meant every tax payer in the country is paying less tax than they otherwise would have to do, given our current public spending commitments. So it is intrinsically a good idea, with the caveats of public interest.

And FWIW, I remember what the trains were like in state ownership, and it was horrendous previously. The current situation is far from ideal since costs have been allowed to spiral, but returning it to the dogshit it was before, is no solution.

Transport for London are probably the best train/tube operator in the south and they're publicly owned... they've invested heavily in both infrastructure and people who best understand how to get the most out of that infrastructure. Every penny of profit is reinvested back into improving the service.

 

[mat]

Working in the rail industry it's a question I've asked in meetings with directors and retail departments numerous times. I can only come to one conclusion why the prices are so high.

Sadly I'll probably lose my job if I ever made it public.

 

[jay_mcfc]

If Sainsburys or John Lewis consistently offered poor service, lack of choice and high prices for low quality products then they'd go out of business. Thier competitors, who did provide the right level of service would then benefit.

The railways, on the other hand, form part of our essential national infrastructure. Without them, people couldn't travel to work and goods couldn't be moved. I agree privatisation was badly handled but there is no way that the sort of competition we see on the high street could be applied to the railways, in the way you are advocating, for all sorts of reasons. Profitable routes would be cherry-picked and less profitable ones ignored. Capacity is limited. Etc.

Germany manages to run a state railway perfectly adequately. So much so that Deutsche Bahn own or part own the companies that run a lot of our UK franchises. I was in the USA recently and looking at travelling from Phoenix to LA by train. The journey is 420 miles, so approximately a return trip from Manchester to London. I could do that London round trip in four and a half hours yet to do the same distance in the USA would take over 15 hours and the one service only runs three times a week.

Spot on. There are a million places where I can buy what's available on Amazon or in Sainsburys but there are a limited number of rail services and that in itself makes competition difficult. And to think the govt subsidises this robbery! Renationalisation is the only way to sort out the rail crisis in the UK. All aboard Comrade Corbyn's steam train, choo choo.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Spot on. There are a million places where I can buy what's available on Amazon or in Sainsburys but there are a limited number of rail services and that in itself makes competition difficult. And to think the govt subsidises this robbery! Renationalisation is the only way to sort out the rail crisis in the UK. All aboard Comrade Corbyn's steam train, choo choo.

The government would have to subsidise it if it was nationalised, you numpty.

 

[Vic]

Competing train companies would want to have the same bit of track at the same time.

BR wouid delay a local train to keep an express on time. Now the local operator wants to know why his train is less important. And every delay generates compensation and an army of lawyers sorts out disputes.

As for chippy's sister, i'd love to know where she worked and doing what to get a shift payment like that.

 

[JGL07]

Dare I suggest that the OP check out advance fares before mouthing off on here and then shooting down any suggestions for improving the current dogs breakfast that is the rail system.

I seem to manage to travel First Class from Glasgow to London for less than £55.00 albeit with a Rail card. I also can travel from Glasgow or Edinburgh to Manchester for around £28 First Class.

I am currently about to travel from London to Edinburgh for £54 Standard Class. I decided against paying the extra for First Class because the Stagecoach (Virgin Rail East Coast) service is so crap and half the time the promised hot meal doesn’t materialise because ‘no power supply’, ‘the chef didn’t show up’ or similar excuses.

Of course I could just swan up on the day and moan long and load about being charged an arm and a leg?

 

[Chippy_boy]

Competing train companies would want to have the same bit of track at the same time.

BR wouid delay a local train to keep an express on time. Now the local operator wants to know why his train is less important. And every delay generates compensation and an army of lawyers sorts out disputes.

As for chippy's sister, i'd love to know where she worked and doing what to get a shift payment like that.

I'm no expert on train privatisations mate, so I don't know what other arrangements were explored before deciding on doing it as they have done. But as we are all pretty much agreed I think, it doesn't work as it is, and I refuse to accept that we couldn't have found a better way.

Regards my sister - I know it was in Manchester, but where exactly, I don't know. It was 30-odd years ago, but she will know of course, so I'll ask her next time we catch up.

FWIW, she's fully in favour of nationalisation, but just told me "so long as we don't go back to how it was", before recounting her story!

 

[PannickAtTheDisco]

Dare I suggest that the OP check out advance fares before mouthing off on here and then shooting down any suggestions for improving the current dogs breakfast that is the rail system.

I seem to manage to travel First Class from Glasgow to London for less than £55.00 albeit with a Rail card. I also can travel from Glasgow or Edinburgh to Manchester for around £28 First Class.

I am currently about to travel from London to Edinburgh for £54 Standard Class. I decided against paying the extra for First Class because the Stagecoach (Virgin Rail East Coast) service is so crap and half the time the promised hot meal doesn’t materialise because ‘no power supply’, ‘the chef didn’t show up’ or similar excuses.

Of course I could just swan up on the day and moan long and load about being charged an arm and a leg?

should be the same price, the seat is the seat.