Inflation busting rail fare hikes

[dundeedude]

For me, driving long distances is tedious and dull. I really want to get the train more, as the dedicated tracks seem a plus over the continual roadworks.

However when I added up the cost of a basic ticket after work to get from Aberdeen to Edinburgh or Glasgow on a Friday, it's generally around £50, unless I play 3 weeks in advance. Most people in business simply can't plan that way, as things do change in business regularly!

The couple of times I did take those trains they were full of offshore workers who couldn't resist drinking until they got to wherever they were going, which made a bad impression on the women and children who had to bare the foul mouthed idiots who decided train-abuse was a good idea.

Citylink do a 'gold' service that's usually half the price and includes the usual food, drink and ice creams.

Trains aren't cheap enough for those who could use them most. I could be misunderstanding the annual pricing - but if not - the saddest thing is that an annual ticket assumes you will be using the train daily, including weekends, and so Aberdeen to Glasgow for a year is over £6775!

Trains need to become viable choices for travelers, for both short and long journeys, and prove cost and time effective. Scotland is unique in this sense, as trains are generally slow, excluding the Glasgow to Edinburgh route.

[BoredBloke]

Since Virgin lost the WCML and the end of the traveller tickets and British Midland was bought by BA, there are fewer ways of getting from Manchester to London on the cheap.

[DaveB]

As a cyclist I say good! Up them to pay for free helmets and tyre levers!

Actually, I might be taking the train a couple of times this week. Could the fares stay the same until the weekend please?

One more reason to stay on the bike.

Getting to the office on public transport would cost me £15 a day, and thats with the discount for an Oyster Card. The bike is about to cost me £30for a new bottom bracket, whch is the first I've had to spend on it since I started commuting with it. Thats on a two year old bike that's done almost 1000 miles in the last 2 months. (30 miles a day, 4 days a week).

[hyperD]

What they need to do is change the draconian, corporate middle-management culture and allow working from home as the de facto.

[BoredBloke]

Personally, I think that they need to add some capacity to their trains, I often wonder about the synthetic situation we have with Peak fares and overcrowding .. Why not put an extra carriage on? Certainly in major cities anyway.

Longer trains need longer platforms and the current trains are already pretty long. Double decker trains would be better but that would mean massive changes to bridges and overhead stuff.

What they need to do is utilise the current trains better. Why have almost half the train given over to first and have that section running at about 50% full at peak times? Last friday when I left on the 17:20 out of London, there was me and a handful of people in the first class coach I was in. By the time it got to Manchester, I was the only person left in that coach!

[Scoobos]

Personally, I think that they need to add some capacity to their trains, I often wonder about the synthetic situation we have with Peak fares and overcrowding .. Why not put an extra carriage on? Certainly in major cities anyway.

[gingerjedi]

Only fair, the motorist is already penalised at the pump whilst rail passengers are subsidised at a higher level than when the railways were in public hands.

It's not as if rail fares went up 30% overnight like they did at the pumps and I don't want any more public money flowing into private hands.

[Scoobos]

BBC News - Rail fares will rise by 6.2% in January

Well, they have to give a pay hike to all those employees, pay a lot more bonuses to the rail bosses etc etc. It is only fair that the passengers are asked to contribute to the bonus pot for the excellent service they get from the train companies.

I'm not so sure about the bonuses, I'd like to think that was the case , but:

BBC News - Network Rail chief executive to turn down bonus

Or maybe they'll claim those bonuses at the end of the year when its all died down.. time will tell.

[hyperD]

BBC News - Rail fares will rise by 6.2% in January

Well, they have to give a pay hike to all those employees, pay a lot more bonuses to the rail bosses etc etc. It is only fair that the passengers are asked to contribute to the bonus pot for the excellent monopoly they get from the train companies.

FTFY

[BrilloPad]

As a cyclist I say good! Up them to pay for free helmets and tyre levers!

Actually, I might be taking the train a couple of times this week. Could the fares stay the same until the weekend please?

[fullyautomatix]

BBC News - Rail fares will rise by 6.2% in January

Well, they have to give a pay hike to all those employees, pay a lot more bonuses to the rail bosses etc etc. It is only fair that the passengers are asked to contribute to the bonus pot for the excellent service they get from the train companies.