GRAR!

[hils]

It frustrates me no end how bloody expensive train tickets are in this country! A friend of mine is over from the US and wanted to meet up in London in a couple of weeks. The cheapest I can get down there for is £100 which is a bit much for a few hours in another city.

So annoying!

I'm sure it's not as bad as this in other countries. I took a business class train from New York to Boston for a fraction of the price when I was in the US. Have taken trains in France and Germany too which were also very reasonably priced.

Why are our trains so fucking expensive. It would be cheaper to drive but would take three times as long and who the hell drives in London anyway?

RAR!

Comments

[teragramm.livejournal.com]

It would be cheaper to drive but would take three times as long and who the hell drives in London anyway? You just answered your own question.

Here in NYC trains are a cheaper option then driving. Driving and parking in Manhattan is way more expensive than the train, and that's the idea, to keep public transportation at a reasonable price so you don't take your car and cause "grid lock". (Which is when cars are trying to make the traffic light and only make it half way through and block traffic.) (I didn't know if you use that expression in the UK)

[hils.livejournal.com]

See, this is the thing. Our government says they want people to use public transport but then keep it too expensive to do so. It makes no sense whatsoever.

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

I drive in London... Not often these days admittedly, but I used do it a lot.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

UK trains are so expensive because they are private businesses that are required, by law, to maximise the profits of their shareholders.

Trains in most continental countries are subsidised by their governments to encourage people to use them.

[crazybellatrix.livejournal.com]

That's incredibly annoying. I hate it how freakin' expensive the train tickets are here, too. -_-;; I mean, you can get a return journey to Paris for cheaper than that!

[denorios.livejournal.com]

I know, I hate train fares to London. The only way to get decent priced tickets is to get the Advance tickets that go on sale 12 weeks ahead - but that requires you to know your plans 12 weeks ahead! I've come across times when it's been cheaper to fly to London from East Midlands, where I live, than it is to take the train - and that's just ridiculous.

[oneiriad.livejournal.com]

In Denmark, it's more expensive to take a train between the two biggest cities in the country, than it is to fly to Great Britain. We've recently been seeing a rice in long-distance bus companies, actually - perfectly comfortable and unlikely to have trouble due to maintenance work on the rails.

[kath-ballantyne.livejournal.com]

That sucks.
Our standard trains are a decent price but they go around Sydney, out west over the mountains as fas a Lithgow, North as far as Newcastle and south as far as Wollongong. That is such a tiny bit of the state.
There are Country Link trains that go further but they also cost a fortune but still only go to major cities.

[kazzy-cee.livejournal.com]

Good grief! Is that booking ahead? I find the Trainline gives quite good discounts if you sometimes change trains rather than going straight through, but it takes a bit of creative journey planning. How annoying!

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yep that was booking ahead. I booked yesterday to travel on the 7th Nov and the cheapest deal I could find anywhere was £94 for a return.

[cleodora.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I know. It only takes me 45 minutes to get to London by train, but it costs £38, which is loads! It doesn't cost as much to travel north, they can just get away with charging more for London :(

I was at a party recently and this really irritating guy who works for a train company (in an office capacity) was there and told me that the railway companies in this country barely make enough money to maintain the trains and the tracks. Apparently the reason why rail travel is so much cheaper in Europe is because it's subsidised. Which I guess makes sense although it doesn't explain why it's cheaper in the US, because I can't imagine they subsidise it there.

[misura.livejournal.com]

£100? Yikes. That's about what I pay for unlimited train travel for a whole month (outside peak hours, in all fairness, but still).

If you can safely park your car near a railway station you might maybe drive part of the way and take the train for the other part?