Is train travel in the UK expensive? Or am I missing something? Serious question

M M

mr t

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24 Oct 2007
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Every time I try book tickets to anywhere it’s

1. Very complicated - change here, change there, change every fucking where……..
2. Very expensive. - if I don’t want to change here, change there, change every fucking where……

I also have a railcard but bargains seem hard to find.

Has anybody got any hints or tips on how to get cheap train travel?

Help with this would be appreciated.
 
I used to fly into London, tube to Euston, get on a train to Mcr and it was all relatively straightforward and not particularly expensive.

Now, train fares are for a specific train, and the closer to departure it gets, the more the ticket prices seem to increase.

Walk up fares are outrageous for an Inter City Euston to Piccadilly! Literally cheaper to rent a car!!
 
mr t said:
Every time I try book tickets to anywhere it’s

1. Very complicated - change here, change there, change every fucking where……..
2. Very expensive. - if I don’t want to change here, change there, change every fucking where……

I also have a railcard but bargains seem hard to find.

Has anybody got any hints or tips on how to get cheap train travel?

Help with this would be appreciated.
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I agree. West coast mainline since the franchise was broken up has been an arse to use - going MCR to London changing at Crewe for example you might have to let a couple of empty trains go past because they are not the railway company that issued the ticket.
I realise everything has gone up in price but 15 yes ago Virgin quite regularly do £20 off peak returns on this route and not much more to go 1st class.
 
Booking on specific trains is a lot cheaper than an open ticket.
Problem is that if you miss that train, your ticket isn't valid for the next one
 
I used train line recently it was cheaper but as the original poster says you have to travel on certain trains . Otherwise your ticket is not valid .
 
I am convinced that the operators make it as complex as possible to enhance profits.
I cannot grasp what is difficult about one on peak price, and one off peak price.

I recently travelled to Barnsley.
At every point on every different leg of the journey there were different prices.
The screen was full of options.
I thought the cost was reasonable though.
One train (of three changes) was late, so the connection was missed, and I was an hour late.

My wife recently tried to book a ticket to London from Liverpool and it was £180.
Fancy a trip for a family of four?
 
Few years ago it was cheaper for me to fly to London - Dublin then Dublin - Liverpool than get direct train up. I ended up getting train via Birmingham.
 
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Mrs KS recently booked a return flight to Benidorm and a return rail trip from Leeds to Brum.
Guess which was cheaper!
 
Maybe it'll all end up back at square one and simpler once all the companies are nationalised?

For my own experience, I got the train earlier over summer from Blackpool to Nottingham for a stag do, first time for years and years. I'd normally just drive rather than get a train but, the beer consumption pushed me to the rails.

Booked online and got around £90 return but this was at the start of Stockport being closed. Other prices were available but at double what I paid and more direct on the Sunday.

On the way out all fine and a pleasant experience but, the return journey, not helped by being delicate, was fucking awful.

Replacement bus from Sheffield which had a hour wait to set off and it arrived 15 mins late in Manchester, then with differing companies a long long wait in Manchester. Also had the pleasure of 6/7 dickhead teenagers on it until Horwich, carriage full of people who were perhaps used to it but being only 2 of us we decided not to 'sort them out' other passengers didn't want to make eye contact so I think it'd have been 6/7 v 2.. it took 8+ hours to get back near home. Ended up getting Mrs Moon to pick me up in Preston.

Never. Ever. Again.
 
Depending on what they run on; electricity is far too expensive and diesel is far too expensive… if they were cheaper, would the train fares be cheaper?

Looking at train prices from Manchester to London, next Saturday as a random example: I’ve found one option that comes to £58.79 return… good price! However, if that particular option sells out, the prices start to get to £175.49 next and then 190.79 and then they’re over £200.

It’s £108, £113 or £118 for a flight from Manchester to Heathrow.

So, yeah, if you book the cheaper train early enough, you’re alright. But I can see why people don’t book rail travel early because of the unreliability of the railways. You don’t know whether trains will be running on any particular day in the future: strikes, signalling issues, leaves on the line, broken down units, lack of staff on weekends… so you’d rather forego the cheap rail option in case any of those things mean trains will be cancelled and opt for the £108-118 flight options.

Or, instead of flying to London, you’d fly to Barcelona because you can get flights very cheap. Just looking for the same Saturday, I’ve found flights to Barcelona for £54, £60 and £85. It’s cheaper to go and boost another country’s economy than it is to travel within our own country.
 
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KS55 said:
Mrs KS recently booked a return flight to Benidorm and a return rail trip from Leeds to Brum.
Guess which was cheaper!
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My anytime return tickets to Euston (which work pay for) are £398. My return flights to Switzerland are £351. It’s mental.
 
Nearly £30 a day now for me to London.
Was around £20-22 before pandemic.
I live 25 miles away
 
Bettys Bell said:
I used train line recently it was cheaper but as the original poster says you have to travel on certain trains . Otherwise your ticket is not valid .
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I've just come back from Portugal and have also used the trains in Spain*
In both countries you have to book a specific train and seat so we can't really complain that we also do it.

We are however a lot dearer and foc's even UK ones are half price.

*before anyone else says it. The train in Spain stays mainly on the plain.
 
It's a piss take out of the passengers and front line employees of the railway who take the brunt of the complaints/abuse whilst companies like the Trainline take huge profits out of the industry which could be used to reinvest into the infrastructure.

People are playing huge fares they might not begrudge it if they had decent length trains with a guaranteed seat and decent WiFi.

The fare structure is deliberately structured to be complicated and it's all weighed in favour off the Train Operating Companies.

Ticketing rules get get changed as and when they feel like it with little or no notice to staff or fare paying passengers.

Also, the way the fares are divvied out is being overridden by by greedy TOCs oversubscribing advance tickets which are heavily abused in use who keep all the revenue from them which goes straight to the "stakeholders".

For example. One oversubscribed advance tickets to a holiday destination knowing damn well they didn't have the capacity of train services to carry them. Their alternative? Put buses on. That way they get the revenue plus a huge bung from the DFT for providing their own buses.

The over pricing of tickets hit home for me during COVID. 5% of normal levels travelling. Yet I was on strike for pay despite the company making a 20 million pounds in profit! That screams rip off.
 
The cheapest way to London is to book a return to Crewe. Then an LNWR train to Euston. (Ticket only valid on LNWR.)

Cheap, but slow, as the LNWR trains stops at all moderately important stations. No refreshments either, although the refreshments on the main trains are shit anyway.
 
Trains are ramped at peak times so they will just continue to charge the prices they can get away with charging,

If you're a casual user of trains you can get bargains, if you NEED to get where you are going for work or an important meeting then they have you by the curlies.
 
BrianW said:
The cheapest way to London is to book a return to Crewe. Then an LNWR train to Euston. (Ticket only valid on LNWR.)

Cheap, but slow, as the LNWR trains stops at all moderately important stations. No refreshments either, although the refreshments on the main trains are shit anyway.
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That's another railway rant of mine.

My employers gave the contract to select service partners. They always plead poverty with my management whilst bullying their staff to sell more of the £4 instant coffees or 'meal deals' with a sandwich and crisps for a tenner.

SSP make billions every year and another example of outsourcing profiteering.

The standard of new trains too.

People are paying huge amounts and should at least have a decent seat for long distance travel. Our new ones have got what I can ironing board bus seats in them. Crap for a 5 hour cross country journey. To differentiate between standard and first. First have slightly better padding on them.

I know GBR and the unions are getting their heads down to try and 'revolutionise' the industry but we're so far apart so far and talking about the wrong things.

GBR bosses saying we're paid too much and need 'more productivity'. Unions saying reinvest the profits into the industry and ditch the 'stakeholders'.

The treasury aren't helping. Agreements that cost 'basic admin fees' are being stalled because they think we're both taking the piss. It's one simple fix that both sides agree on that benefits all sides including the public. They don't and won't understand the railway cannot be run like a supermarket or bus company.
 
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