For the people that still nag about Belgian train ticket prices..
I can’t find a source anywhere. I wonder how this was calculated. Does this take into account discounts such as the Go Passes or senior ticket? Does it take into account the use of railcards such as the campus card? And what percentages of trips are taken by each discount/railcard?
Of course prices in Belgium are cheap compared to our neighbours but I feel like this direct comparison isn’t entirely fair.
Brussel-Noord -> Oostende.
Standard ticket = 17.10€.
Google Maps distance: 111KM.
17.10€/111KM = 0.15€/KM
€:GBP -> 1:0.85
KM:Mi -> 1:0.62
17.10€/111KM = 14.54GBP/68.82Mi = **0.21GBP/Mi**
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THE DATA IS WRONG, THEY ARE OFF BY ONE CENT!
Nah. Sure, in theory our trains are cheaper than in The Netherlands. But that’s because they have this dumb system where train tickets are really expensive but they have dozens of possible discounts (groepsticket daluren, NS Flex, and so on). Do I want us to have such a system? No (cheaper tickets outside peak hours sound good, but please don’t make it that complicated). But it does mean trains in The Netherlands are quite a bit cheaper in practice than this map shows.
Same thing for France. Their ouigo tickets are extremely affordable compared to our train tickets: Lille-Marseille is 25 euros for 1000 km, so that’s 2,5 cents per km. Yes, you need to book a week in advance for that price, but that’s possible in most cases.
Trains in Luxembourg are entirely free. And according to this map, prices in Germany are similar to those in Belgium.
So sure, Belgian trains are cheap if you compare it to the worst-case price in neighbouring countries (except Luxembourg). The problem is that, if you’re too old for a Go Pass and don’t take a certain trip enough to justify a subscription, there are no discounts in Belgium except the weekend ticket which isn’t even 50% off. Prices are the same during the week in all situations without exception. So the best-case price in Belgium is extremely expensive compared to the best-case prices (off-peak, booked way in advance) in neighbouring countries.
4 comments
For the people that still nag about Belgian train ticket prices..
I can’t find a source anywhere. I wonder how this was calculated. Does this take into account discounts such as the Go Passes or senior ticket? Does it take into account the use of railcards such as the campus card? And what percentages of trips are taken by each discount/railcard?
Of course prices in Belgium are cheap compared to our neighbours but I feel like this direct comparison isn’t entirely fair.
Brussel-Noord -> Oostende.
Standard ticket = 17.10€.
Google Maps distance: 111KM.
17.10€/111KM = 0.15€/KM
€:GBP -> 1:0.85
KM:Mi -> 1:0.62
17.10€/111KM = 14.54GBP/68.82Mi = **0.21GBP/Mi**
​
THE DATA IS WRONG, THEY ARE OFF BY ONE CENT!
Nah. Sure, in theory our trains are cheaper than in The Netherlands. But that’s because they have this dumb system where train tickets are really expensive but they have dozens of possible discounts (groepsticket daluren, NS Flex, and so on). Do I want us to have such a system? No (cheaper tickets outside peak hours sound good, but please don’t make it that complicated). But it does mean trains in The Netherlands are quite a bit cheaper in practice than this map shows.
Same thing for France. Their ouigo tickets are extremely affordable compared to our train tickets: Lille-Marseille is 25 euros for 1000 km, so that’s 2,5 cents per km. Yes, you need to book a week in advance for that price, but that’s possible in most cases.
Trains in Luxembourg are entirely free. And according to this map, prices in Germany are similar to those in Belgium.
So sure, Belgian trains are cheap if you compare it to the worst-case price in neighbouring countries (except Luxembourg). The problem is that, if you’re too old for a Go Pass and don’t take a certain trip enough to justify a subscription, there are no discounts in Belgium except the weekend ticket which isn’t even 50% off. Prices are the same during the week in all situations without exception. So the best-case price in Belgium is extremely expensive compared to the best-case prices (off-peak, booked way in advance) in neighbouring countries.