Train passengers enjoy cheaper tickets thanks to public ownership

9 comments

1. I would actually go to the office more if train tickets were cheaper.

2. This is a bit simplistic. Basically it’s being subsidised by the taxpayer, so the cost is spread amongst taxpayers and not all borne by the user. This could happen under private or public ownership.

3. It’s not meant cheaper fares for government owned LNER users, in fact they abolished off peak fares on many journeys making it substantially more expensive 

4. > This advance fare scheme will give more options to rail passengers travelling across the North of England, making advanced fares available across the whole route at the same time and generating an additional £200,000 in revenue for the railway by encouraging more people to travel by train.

   Advance tickets are one of the biggest problems with the trains. Wait weeks for them to release the “cheap tickets” … And if you can book 10- 12 weeks in advance you can get tickets that are merely extortionate.

   I always enjoy paying £400 to get the train to a funeral *and most times i don’t even get a seat for a 6 hour journey*

5. Any ideas/clues/examples on prices and difference?

   I’m in Liverpool and can drive to anywhere a couple of hours away, and back again, on about £15-20 worth of fuel. Until a return train ticket from say, Liverpool to Nottingham or Birmingham costs £15-20, the train is not an option.

   Not to mention the fact driving takes you door to door, means you can leave/arrive on your own timetable, means you can take luggage/stuff more easily, etc.

6. Advance tickets are great if you can plan that far ahead. But for the vast majority of journeys that cant be done and the train companies and government know that.

   If I need to go to the office I will be told a few days or perhaps a week in advance. The journey takes 40 minutes and costs just over £80 for a return. That’s a pound a minute for the privilege of standing both ways. In no world is that value for money.

   We need the trains but prices mean you look for alternatives or just don’t bother traveling at all which makes them a bit pointless for a lot of people.

7. My first job was local so I got the bus there, my second job I walked there and then I moved out and the train fares I considered a waste of money so I brought a cheap brand new bicycle for £250 it was on sale… anyways it took 3 months to save the amount of fares I would have if I took the train and that was almost 10 years ago now.

   The amount of money I saved over the years helped me buy a motorcycle.

   Then I met a guy at another job a few years later who brought a brand new 125c motorcycle to travel to the same place as a year’s worth of train fares cost more than what tax, insurance, petrol and the cost of the motorcycle itself… now this man was in his early 50’s so insurance was dirt cheap and he had a full license for decades too.

   Train fares shouldn be so high that buying a motorcycle ends up being the cheaper option.
   Hopefully fares do go down to an acceptable amount.

8. Ah yes, cheaper tickets.. but only if I book way in advance.

9. By being publicly operated, fares have gone down as none of the route improvement programmes that the franchisees had to adhere to are in place any longer.

   LNER only became profitable because it ditched all the franchise requirements. Even then it made sod all money. In 20 years time, the route will look haggared like it did 10 years ago.

Comments are closed.