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What a load of nonsense, an off peak return from Brighton to London is £13.70 and not £40, and the same is true of Cambridge and Oxford.
The service is also very good, as the line between Brighton and Cambridge is part of the fantastic new Thameslink.
The fact that such a short distance has peak and "off peak" prices is nonsense on its own. Peak price IS close to or even over £50. I know because I have taken it.
The service is very good if you've never taken trains elsewhere I suppose, lol.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Greysholic
The fact that such a short distance has peak and "off peak" prices is nonsense on its own. Peak price IS close to or even over £50. I know because I have taken it.
The service is very good if you've never taken trains elsewhere I suppose, lol.
Any one who thinks Thameslink is not a good service, has never been to the UK and is just pretending to have knowledge about the country.
No it's not nonsense, it allows a separation of those passengers who are travelling for business and work between 7 am and 9 am, as well as 4 pm and 6 pm, and leisure passengers who can travel later for a lesser amount.
Peak times are more expensive but not to the extent you make out, and most regular uses of peak time services buy a season ticket, thereby making journeys far cheaper.
You can buy a Season Ticket for seven days or any period between one month and a year:
Seven Days -You can use the ticket at any time during any seven day period for travel between the points shown on the ticket - the more you travel, the more you save!
Flexi Season - Valid for travel at any time on any 8 in 28 days. Offers great savings against buying Anytime Day tickets and allows you to choose which days to travel.
One month - Monthly Season Tickets offer great savings compared to buying four individual Seven Day season tickets.
Over one month - Season Tickets can also be purchased for any duration between one month and one year.
Cheap day returns have always been very popular, as have other concessions, an adult railcard gives you 1/3rd off rail fares straight away, whilst there are also concessionary cards in relation to -
There are also lots of cheap on-line deals, and fares are being simplified further with the introduction of Great British Railways, which will replace Network Rail in 2023.
Last edited by Brave New World; 05-28-2022 at 04:58 AM..
No it's not nonsense, it allows a separation of those passengers who are travelling for business and work between 7 am and 9 am, as well as 4 pm and 6 pm, and leisure passengers who can travel later for a lesser amount.
Peak times are more expensive but not to the extent you make out, and most regular uses of peak time services buy a season ticket, thereby making journeys far cheaper.
Cheap day returns have always been very popular, as have other concessions, an adult railcard gives you 1/3rd off rail fares straight away, whilst there are also concessionary cards in relation to -
Lmao I took Thameslink almost every day for a whole year.
If you buy tickets on the spot, it is exactly that expensive.
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Originally Posted by Greysholic
Lmao I took Thameslink almost every day for a whole year.
If you buy tickets on the spot, it is exactly that expensive.
$51 Dollars equates to £40 return for a 120 mile round trip, which is £20 each way, however if you had bought a season ticket or rail card, this would have been significantly reduced, and it should be noted you are talking about a journey of over 60 odd miles outside of London or over 120 miles return, and the equivalent of using the NYC Long Island Rail Road or other such lines in to major cities, which are expensive especially at peak times.
You also seemed to ignore the boxes stating best fares for your journey £10.62 or super off peak $25.88.
I think the fact you paid that without buying a season ticket or rail card, says more about you than anything else.
Furthermore if you worked in Cambridge, why not live there it's cheaper than London and you could have saved the travel fare and also saved yourself a lot of time.
British train companies maximise revenue by selling tickets more cheaply ahead of time, when trains are emptier, in order to fill seats, and for much higher prices on the day. This is partly because UK train companies get more of their money from passengers rather than through government subsidies, however there is currently an on-going review with changes being announced next year as part of the launch of Great British Railways.
The European Commission published a report in 2016 that compared different types of train fares.
The UK had the fourth most expensive regional, peak, single fares bought on the day of travel, behind Switzerland, Slovenia and Spain. So the Swiss system actually can be expensive.
The UK was the third most expensive if bought a week or a month in advance.
For off-peak, return, regional fares the UK was 12th for on the day and 11th for a week or a month in advance.
Last edited by Brave New World; 05-28-2022 at 05:51 AM..
Bulgarian trains are bad but at least they're cheaper than a coach.
If Western Europe was really about "protecting the environment" wouldn't you make the train fares cheaper than those gas-guzzling coaches? Taking a train is far more comfortable anyway, larger seats, more space, you can stand up and walk, they have a WC etc. They're also safer, I bet buses have more accidents. I prefer not using coaches for distances of more than 15-20 miles.
$51 Dollars equates to £40 return for a 120 mile round trip, which is £20 each way, however if you had bought a season ticket or rail card, this would have been significantly reduced, and it should be noted you are talking about a journey of over 60 odd miles outside of London or over 120 miles return, and the equivalent of using the NYC Long Island Rail Road or other such lines in to major cities, which are expensive especially at peak times.
You also seemed to ignore the boxes stating best fares for your journey £10.62 or super off peak $25.88.
I think the fact you paid that without buying a season ticket or rail card, says more about you than anything else.
Furthermore if you worked in Cambridge, why not live there it's cheaper than London and you could have saved the travel fare and also saved yourself a lot of time.
British train companies maximise revenue by selling tickets more cheaply ahead of time, when trains are emptier, in order to fill seats, and for much higher prices on the day. This is partly because UK train companies get more of their money from passengers rather than through government subsidies, however there is currently an on-going review with changes being announced next year as part of the launch of Great British Railways.
The European Commission published a report in 2016 that compared different types of train fares.
The UK had the fourth most expensive regional, peak, single fares bought on the day of travel, behind Switzerland, Slovenia and Spain. So the Swiss system actually can be expensive.
The UK was the third most expensive if bought a week or a month in advance.
For off-peak, return, regional fares the UK was 12th for on the day and 11th for a week or a month in advance.
Why would a tourist buy a seasonal ticket or rail card? For tourists UK trains are extremely expensive and the quality is subpar. That is a fact.
I really don't have too much experience regarding this matter , but as far as the quality of my extremely limited journeys by train have gone , I'd have to say I've found Austria to be the best country in that regard .
My journey by train from Vienna to Leobendorf was easily the best train trip I've ever taken , in spite of its rather short length as such .
$51 Dollars equates to £40 return for a 120 mile round trip, which is £20 each way, however if you had bought a season ticket or rail card, this would have been significantly reduced, and it should be noted you are talking about a journey of over 60 odd miles outside of London or over 120 miles return, and the equivalent of using the NYC Long Island Rail Road or other such lines in to major cities, which are expensive especially at peak times.
You also seemed to ignore the boxes stating best fares for your journey £10.62 or super off peak $25.88.
I think the fact you paid that without buying a season ticket or rail card, says more about you than anything else.
Furthermore if you worked in Cambridge, why not live there it's cheaper than London and you could have saved the travel fare and also saved yourself a lot of time.
British train companies maximise revenue by selling tickets more cheaply ahead of time, when trains are emptier, in order to fill seats, and for much higher prices on the day. This is partly because UK train companies get more of their money from passengers rather than through government subsidies, however there is currently an on-going review with changes being announced next year as part of the launch of Great British Railways.
The European Commission published a report in 2016 that compared different types of train fares.
The UK had the fourth most expensive regional, peak, single fares bought on the day of travel, behind Switzerland, Slovenia and Spain. So the Swiss system actually can be expensive.
The UK was the third most expensive if bought a week or a month in advance.
For off-peak, return, regional fares the UK was 12th for on the day and 11th for a week or a month in advance.
NYC commuter rail / Amtrak national rail prices are admittedly quite high especially as Amtrak is forced to be self sufficient so it tries to squeeze as much profit out of the northeast corridor as possible. It's also arguably run in a very suboptimal fashion. I would not use NYC as a basis of comparison as those tickets are quite expensive. NYC subways though are very inexpensive! However, I would certainly not rank the US or even just the relatively well-served Northeastern US anywhere near the top for best trains.
Yes, the major thing that dings the Swiss system is that it's very expensive. However, it's so clean, reliable, frequent, extensive, and just plain nice especially given the size and population of the country that I think it still has a decent shot at the top. Spain also has a very wide expanse of high speed rail throughout the country and its cities have great rapid transit systems that are fairly inexpensive. Don't know much about Slovenia. I would love to see this report though!
I really don't have too much experience regarding this matter , but as far as the quality of my extremely limited journeys by train have gone , I'd have to say I've found Austria to be the best country in that regard .
My journey by train from Vienna to Leobendorf was easily the best train trip I've ever taken , in spite of its rather short length as such .
I agree. I'll also like to give a nod to Czech railways. I've taken a Flixbus from Bratislava to Prague and also a train. With the bus I hated the trip and was too tired. With the train I liked it and didn't feel so tired. Also, it seems like in that part of Europe they have traffic jams on highways which is weird to me. My bus from Dresden to Prague got in such a highway jam, and the one from Vienna airport to Bratislava as well. My lesson is to always prefer trains to coaches in A/CZ/SK/HU whenever possible.
I have seen a lot of big improvements in terms of British Rail Services, including new rolling stock, line upgrades and unprecedented investment, and I don't find them sub-par at all, whilst in terms of being expensive that is only due to the fact the system is designed in relation to pre-booking, seasonal cards and concessionary rail cards, and the same is true of Transport for London.
Last edited by Brave New World; 05-29-2022 at 05:28 AM..
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