Train fare rises draw criticism :: will you use a train after reading this ?

[TheHowling]

taken from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6223701.stm

Above-inflation price rises for rail tickets have come under attack from rail groups and opposition politicians.
Many areas' regulated fares, which include season tickets, have risen by 4.3% - about 1% above inflation - but some unregulated fares are up by 7.3%.


On many lines it is the fourth successive year of above inflation rises

The Tories said the "galling" rises showed ministers had failed to sort out the railways. Rail watchdog Passenger Focus said fares needed simplifying.

But the Department for Transport said they "want the railways to grow".

Full list of train company fare rises :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6223701.stm#fares

On many main lines it is the fourth successive year in which tickets have risen by more than inflation.

Train companies say the extra money is to pay for service improvements.

It has become too much for people to travel during peak longer distance and therefore people are being pushed off the railways-Anthony Smith -Passenger Focus

But shadow transport secretary Chris Grayling accused ministers of pressurising rail firms to push up prices and force people to stop using the trains.

He said the government had originally set out a 10-year plan to sort out the railways.

The plan included "longer trains, longer platforms, upgrades to main lines, to tackle the capacity problems on our railways, to encourage people to leave their cars at home".

But he said: "None of that's now happening, so the only thing they can do is to push up fares, to collude with the train companies to do that, and as a result reduce overcrowding."

Ticket 'jungle'

The transport department regulates some fares, including season tickets and saver tickets.

Regulated fares account for 40% of tickets sold, and have risen by up to 4.3% in some areas, although many such fares have not increased at all.

Meanwhile, the 60% of fares which are set by private operators increased by up to 7.3%, which is nearly three times the government's 2.7% target rate of inflation.

LONDON-MANCHESTER FARES
Train: £59.50 (Virgin)
Plane: £223 (British Airways)
Car: £130 (based on 35p/mile)
Coach: £27.50 (National Express)
Bus: £21.50 (Megabus)
*leaving 3 Jan, returning 4 Jan, fares cheapest available

Unregulated fares include open tickets, when passengers buy their tickets on the day they want to travel.

Anthony Smith, of Passenger Focus, described the pricing system as a "jungle" that needed to be simplified.

"It has become too much for people to travel during peak longer distance and therefore people are being pushed off the railways. It is not fair," he said.

"Pushing people towards booking ahead in advance and being less flexible, it changes the nature of the railway."

mmercial decision'

Average increases in unregulated fares will be 6.6% on Virgin West Coast, 5.9% on Midland Mainline and 5.7% on Central Trains.

If they are trying to get us off the roads and onto public transport, this is a funny way to go about it! -Rod Drake, Brighton

Heathrow and Gatwick Express tickets are up by 7.3%, but Merseyrail, which has increased its fares by 3.2%, has seen the lowest average increase.

Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent newspaper, told the BBC the situation abroad was "completely different".

In France the maximum return fare from Paris to Lille - more than the distance between London and Birmingham - was £60, and there was a fare cap of £160 anywhere in Germany.

EUROPEAN FARES
London-Edinburgh (332 miles) £116
Berlin-Munich (312 miles) £70.75
Paris-Bordeaux (310 miles) £47.50
Madrid-Barcelona (314 miles) £42.85
(Standard, off-peak single tickets)

A Department for Transport spokesman said setting fares which are not regulated is "a commercial decision for train operators".

"It is in their interests to provide an attractive range of fares and to encourage more passengers to use the railway," he said.

He added that "most commuter tickets and saver fares have their average increases capped at inflation plus 1%".

The spokesman also addressed the overcrowding issue.

"Passenger numbers have continued to increase, with more than one billion using the network in the last year," he said.

"Ministers have consistently said that they want the railways to grow and passenger numbers to increase and will be publishing later this year a framework for the longer-term future of the railways."

[bRAIL FARE RISES FOR 2007 [/b]

Train Company Average rise % (unregulated fares) Average rise % (regulated fares)
Arriva Trains Wales 5.5 4.3
c2c 4.3 4.3
Central Trains 5.7 4.3
Chiltern Railways 4.5 4.3
First Capital Connect 3.5 4.3
First Great Western 4.8 4.3
First ScotRail 4.3 4.3
(Strathclyde) - 0
First TransPennine Express 4.6 4.3
Gatwick Express 7.3 4.3
Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) 5.5 4.3
Heathrow Express 7.3 N/A
Hull Trains 3.5 N/A
Island Line N/A 5.3
Merseyrail 3.2 3.2
Midland Mainline 5.9 4.3
Northern Rail 4.3 4.3
(WYPTE area) - 6.3
'one' 5 4.3
Silverlink 4.3 4.3
Southeastern 4.3 6.3
Southern 4.3 4.3
South West Trains 5.3 4.3
Virgin CrossCountry 4.3 4.3
Virgin West Coast 6.6 4.3
Source: Atoc

anyone want to catch a plane

[teflon]

I never use the train because it entails rubbing shoulders with the proletariat, but it is completely ridiculous that you can fly to blooming Bulgaria for £40 return, yet it costs £200 to go from London to Manchester on some rickety carriage packed with ethnic minorities and football hooligans.

The thieving bampots in government will no doubt react to this by quadrupling taxation on airfares on the grounds of some spurious and highly dubious 'evidence' that planes give the sky a sore head or something.

But that is a nonsense, because how can it possibly cost £1 a head to shift a hollow tube of steel down a greasy track? Especially when Ryanair are charging less than 1 pence a mile in a thing that actually lifts off the ground and flies through the air.

[emma roids]

trains are a rip off tbh


ok for us to drive down to the father in laws it costs me about 40 quid in petrol,

if we took the train 2 adult tickets are about 80-100 quid dunno what the kids pay ><

how the chuff does the government expect us to use public transport lol.

[Puratech]

I think thats really the biggest problem, for multiple people public transport gets stupidly expensive very quickly.

Its generally cheaper to travel to most places in a car than via public transport, if you look at pence per mile in terms of petrol alone. Then you have the advantage you can go when you like, with whatever music you like, and you can stop when you like, smoke when you like etc. So driving is often the easiest and most flexible way of getting around.

Then take into account that extra passengers in your car cost you virtually nothing and will often split the cost. So if 3 of you want to go london to manchester, that 140quid is dropped to more like 43, and in realistic terms about 20quid petrol each and you retain most of that flexibility.

Theres also the fact that half of the UK is very very poorly connected via public transport. For example, Milton Keynes -> Reading, a journey ive made quite a few times, both places high population near london, on motorways. Public transport has taken me 6-7 hours over 3 busses and walks around and in between, alternatively 1 train and 2 busses is faster, but more expensive and driving will take you about 1.5-2 hours.

The other thing is this country is fairly cold and rainy a lot of the time, and for me at least i associate public transport with having to walk and wait in crap conditions for public services.

[MaKo]

i don't mind getting the train. Could be cheaper though aye.

[TheHowling]

so much for saving the world

with this, more and more people will use cars, and thats stupid.

with a better transport system and sensible prices, there could be a possible reversal and trains could be a serious way to help the planet

bang goes the world