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£292 return railway fare London-Newcastle WTF


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Old 04-01-2017, 09:53
SaturnV
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But then I don't have any children. To use your argument, why should my taxes go towards subsidising those who do have children through child tax credits and schools?

National infrastructure, road as well as rail, is the responsibility of national government and should be paid by everyone.
Somebody else paid for your education.
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Old 04-01-2017, 10:04
welwynrose
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But then I don't have any children. To use your argument, why should my taxes go towards subsidising those who do have children through child tax credits and schools?

National infrastructure, road as well as rail, is the responsibility of national government and should be paid by everyone.
Different kettle of fish, all children have to be educated you don't subsidise people who choose to send their children to private schools people don't have to commute to work they choose to do so usually because the salary is more, I could work locally but choose to commute into London
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Old 04-01-2017, 10:13
Tassium
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It's the nature of life that journeys are often not possible to plan months/weeks ahead.

So to blame the public for not booking ahead is being unreasonable.

A service that requires unreasonable behaviour to be affordable is not fit for purpose.
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Old 04-01-2017, 10:23
Dr K Noisewater
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It is quicker and cheaper to fly.
Absolutely. Me and the girlfriend went to Southampton a few weeks back to visit family, we live in Newcastle. We left it quite late to book and the cheapest train tickets I could find return tickets for two people it was going to cost me just shy of £400!!! Then I looked at flights and managed to get two return flights for £80. Also by flying it meant we got there just over an hour after leaving home. If we'd got the train it would have meant 7 hours of travelling. Needless to stay we'll definitely be flying again next time.
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Old 04-01-2017, 10:54
Mark39London
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It's the nature of life that journeys are often not possible to plan months/weeks ahead.

So to blame the public for not booking ahead is being unreasonable.

A service that requires unreasonable behaviour to be affordable is not fit for purpose.
Clearly, it depends on what time you want to travel, but I just found a London-Newcastle return for less than £90 for next week via the trainline.

I've travelled a lot by train from London to Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, never more than a weeks notice and never paid the top end prices (and I always go first).

You do need internet access though.
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Old 04-01-2017, 11:05
Dotheboyshall
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Absolutely. Me and the girlfriend went to Southampton a few weeks back to visit family, we live in Newcastle. We left it quite late to book and the cheapest train tickets I could find return tickets for two people it was going to cost me just shy of £400!!! Then I looked at flights and managed to get two return flights for £80. Also by flying it meant we got there just over an hour after leaving home. If we'd got the train it would have meant 7 hours of travelling. Needless to stay we'll definitely be flying again next time.
Flights can be quicker, but most times they'll be slower for travel within the UK. If you had to go to a different port like Dover rather than Southampton then the train would be quicker.
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Old 04-01-2017, 12:21
Harvey_Specter
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Clearly, it depends on what time you want to travel, but I just found a London-Newcastle return for less than £90 for next week via the trainline.

I've travelled a lot by train from London to Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, never more than a weeks notice and never paid the top end prices (and I always go first).

You do need internet access though.
You don't need internet access really; the fares on trainline are the same you can buy in advance from any rail station regardless of what company runs that station (who's ticket office it is).

Those sites tell you you're getting a discounted price, but in reality it's exactly the same and often more.
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Old 04-01-2017, 12:25
Mark39London
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You don't need internet access really; the fares on trainline are the same you can buy in advance from any rail station regardless of what company runs that station (who's ticket office it is).

Those sites tell you you're getting a discounted price, but in reality it's exactly the same and often more.
Yes, but it gives you the ability to view all of the available options. Going to a ticket office (if one is close enough), and especially if busy, might not give you every option
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Old Yesterday, 05:43
jra
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Absolutely. Me and the girlfriend went to Southampton a few weeks back to visit family, we live in Newcastle. We left it quite late to book and the cheapest train tickets I could find return tickets for two people it was going to cost me just shy of £400!!! Then I looked at flights and managed to get two return flights for £80. Also by flying it meant we got there just over an hour after leaving home. If we'd got the train it would have meant 7 hours of travelling. Needless to stay we'll definitely be flying again next time.
So are you saying the flight took no time at all, as in 0 minutes flying time, because you normally have to check in at least an hour before departure either end. And seriously, nobody is going to pay £200 each for a return ticket from Newcastle to Southampton. Book a month in advance and it's down to £100-£120 and the actual rail journey time is about 5.5 hours max, not 7 hours.
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Old Yesterday, 05:57
jra
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It's the nature of life that journeys are often not possible to plan months/weeks ahead.

So to blame the public for not booking ahead is being unreasonable.

A service that requires unreasonable behaviour to be affordable is not fit for purpose.
You have to book ahead when buying a holiday, just like with many other things, e.g. concert tickets, sports events and tickets are often cheaper the further you plan ahead. Rail travel doesn't need to be any different.

There are far greater injustices on our rail network, like there is no railcard for me, as I'm not disabled, too young for a senior railcard, too old for a young person's railcard, usually travel on my own (so can't get a two together railcard) and haven't any children (so I can't get a family railcard). There should be a UK wide railcard for everybody, irrespective of status, like they have in Germany for example. It's blatant discrimination as far as I'm concerned.
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Old Yesterday, 06:42
srpsrp
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I used to use the train regularly to get into Bournemouth or Poole from New Milton as recently as 2009 and it seemed like quite good value.

I was recently looking into going via train to Poole and it was well over 1/3 again as expensive as before... so I didn't go.

The only sane way to get to Poole on a daily bases would be the train, but combine rip off fares with the crap wages on offer these days and it just doesn't make sense.
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Old Yesterday, 08:11
Glawster2002
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Different kettle of fish, all children have to be educated you don't subsidise people who choose to send their children to private schools people don't have to commute to work they choose to do so usually because the salary is more, I could work locally but choose to commute into London
It isn't a "different kettle of fish" at all.

More and more freight is being carried on the railways, meaning fewer lorries on the road, so indirectly even those who don't use the railways benefit.

Railways don't just carry people.

As regards subsidising children who go to private schools, in a way tax payers actually do subsidise private schools because most of them have charitable status and get the tax breaks that go with it.
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Old Yesterday, 08:23
Gilbertoo
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It is quicker and cheaper to fly.
Except it won't be in many instances.
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Old Yesterday, 08:45
TARDIS Blue
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The British way is to grumble about something, and then just carry on with it.
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Old Yesterday, 08:55
jjwales
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Just reading the increase in railway fares in England. Why do you English put up with such a blatant overcharging for overcrowded trains. I just cant get my head around it. Here in NI a Belfast -return to Dublin is £42 and even that is exorbitant to the point that many here keep with their cars if travelling to Dublin or afar.

When are the ordinary Englander going to say enough is enough and boycott the railway companies.
If I boycotted the railway companies, I'd never go anywhere! I don't drive and don't fancy long-distance coach journeys. So I'm stuck with the train unfortunately.
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