[WeeTravels]

‘Rail – a better way for short trips’; an emphatic NO! I’ve just booked a business trip from Manchester to Exeter. I pay for my own travel so the price / convenience balance is about 50/50. It’s a single journey for next Friday (2/8/13) to arrive before noon. Booked today (Sunday 28/7/13), here is what I found:

Train: Travel time approx. 4 hours (1 change) £114.50

So much for transport for the masses! I then thought ah, coach should be slightly cheaper.

Coach: Travel time approx. 7 hours (sans traffic jams) (1 change) £56.80 with the bonus of a 4am start!

Finally checked flights (which I didn’t even consider in the beginning)

Flight: Travel time approx. 1 hour, £76.99.

It really infuriates me that public transport is so bad in the UK; so much so that flying can be the best option. Normally I would drive because it’s nearly always the cheapest option (even if travelling alone!) but as I have the return leg sorted it wouldn’t have been practical in this instance.

Anyway, rant over. My answer is Rail – a better way for short trips. Yes! If you live on the continent.

[openfly]

Bigdog….try Wetherspoons on the upper level overlooking the concourse. Great value and watch the world go by! Victoria’s best kept secret!

[AMcWhirter]

Hello WeeTravels

Rail fares bear little relation to distance. What you pay is based on a combination of factors like the route and train frequency, the TOC itself (Cross Country’s fares are on the high side) and market forces.

Cross Country tends to operate shorter trains which means they are easier to fill even at high prices. And I guess that trains heading to the West Country next Friday from the North will be busy with holidaymakers.

To obtain the best rail fare you must be prepared to be flexible. If you were to travel on a later train at 0927, arriving Exeter 1344 then the fare is £91.99. (Price checked at 1315hrs on Sunday July 28).

It is true that air fares can be cheaper for regional flights but to compare like with like you must include ancillary fees which in the case of a flybe service next Friday, would take the price to £91.99.

Best rail fares are obtainable on busy trunk routes. If I were in Manchester next Friday and wanted to be in Central London by noon then Virgin Trains is charging £65 for a one-way first class Advance ticket (including free drinks and food) to Euston. Price checked at 1325hrs on Sunday July 27. Trains depart every 20 mins which means that Virgin Trains has many more seats to fill and so fares are lower to woo passengers.

[BigDog.]

or not….

“It’s cheaper to FLY across the UK than it is to take the train: How air travel is a third of the price of going by rail”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2396557/How-sky-high-railway-fares-mean-times-expensive-train-fly-Britain.html

[Bucksnet]

AllOverTheGaff – 29/04/2013 11:44 GMT

AOTG, why don’t you fly from Dundee to London City?

[norbert2008]

Just flown Norwich to Manchester with Flybe, perfect, 35 mins compared with 5 hours car or train. Check in and security 5 mins. Nice lounge in Norwich overlooking stands. Please bring back Norwich – Paris or LCY even?

[BigDog.]

A fillip for rail travellers?

…Passengers could be on track for massive savings as Government considers lifting ban on cheap rail fares on day of travel.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2396908/Passengers-track-massive-savings-Government-considers-lifting-ban-cheap-rail-fares-day-travel.html

[AllOverTheGaff]

Bucksnet – 19/08/2013 06:14 GMT
AOTG, why don’t you fly from Dundee to London City?

More than double the price of 1st class train travel and the schedules for CityJet aren’t good. I’ve used this service quite a lot but it has become cost prohibitive with the fares.

I always price it when looking for London travel and it is always £250 – £300 more, and the reality is, all told it saves me around 2 hours over the train.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello Big Dog

In fact the article above dated August 19 is an old story. The news broke a week ago and it was mentioned in a separate Forum thread.

Here’s the Daily Telegraph version dated August 12

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/10236852/Cost-of-single-rail-tickets-may-be-halved.html

[canucklad]

Still to do my reviews of my recent train journey’s……….BUT

Friday night trainmare…..Newcastle to Waverley…..

All trains north delayed…….all because of a broken down freight train in between Durham and Darlington…… I now need 2 hands to count how many times thos has happeneded to me…..frustrating isn’t the word !

[AMcWhirter]

There have been problems on the East Coast Main Line line in recent months. If it’s not a broken down freight train then it’s a broken down passenger train (just hope the East Coast trainsets can soldier on until 2019) or it’s signal failure or it’s over-running engineering work.

I’ve been fortunate for the last two trips I’ve made from Leeds to Kings X but I wonder when my luck will run out ?

[Bucksnet]

AOTG, I’ve never travelled the route so you should know better than I, but a quick check for tomorrow shows fares that are roughly the same. However, flying is over 4 hours faster than the train not including travel to/from airports. Also the morning flight leaves DND at 07:00 and the returns from LCY are at 16:20 and 20:25. Sounds like a viable option for business travellers to me.

[AllOverTheGaff]

@Bucksnet – 19/08/2013 19:56 GMT

Why do you find yourself forever disagreeing about things which you know nothing about?

The DND – LCY route I’ve used over 100 times, since back in the day when Brian Souter started the operation it was big news in my home city. I worked for a company in Buckinghamshire at that time and was able to justify the extra cost to my employer by not using fuel and parking at EDI, at that time DND had free parking.

I check this route every single time I am going to London and every single time it is far too expensive for a couple of hours difference.

Random date chosen for long weekend in London – 27th – 30th September for 2 pax.

East Coast Trains cost – £258.65 for 5 hour 45 minute journey
Cityjet cost – £511.38 for 3 hour 40 minute journey.
– Check in one hour before flight
– One hour forty minutes on flight
– One hour to collect bags/get DLR/Tube to central London

As I know you’d be pedantic about it I went to the TFL site, it is 36 minutes journey time from LCY – Kings Cross – I’ve allowed 20 minutes to get bags at LCY, get ticket for tube and walk up to the platform/wait for next DLR – I am sure you could shave 3 – 6 minutes from my estimate, which you are welcome to do – whilst I sit on the train supping wine.

I’ve also to add parking at DND airport to the costs, but I will negate this as I have to get a cab to and from Dundee railway station. So my options are to spend £250.00 more to save me a couple of hours, once I add in that the train gets me back home in my house at 15:00 and the flight is some 3 hours later at past 18:00, the train wins for cost, convenience, timing, stress and value. When I get back from my weekend away, I have things to do and want them done before 18:00.

But whatever, I am sure nothing I’ve said will compute, you get the plane and I’ll do what’s right for me, for the past 4 journeys I’ve made to London, which I’ve planned and not left till the last gasp, it has been a great experience on the train and it has saved me a bundle of cash which I’ve went on to spend at L’Atelier, Petrus and some fabulous cocktails at The Berkeley.

[Bucksnet]

I’m not disagreeing with what you’ve posted. I said I’ve never travelled the route, but I can plan travel, get quotes and read timetables; I’m just saying what I’ve found. First class rail tomorrow morning, returning the day after was £433. Flights were between £313-493. I will take your word on the times you post, and I’m not pedantic.

Your example for a long weekend is I presume for leisure, and booked well in advance. My example is a typical business journey, and I guess that is what the DND-LCY air link was primarily set up for. I would take the train for leisure in this example, and spend the savings on fine food and drink as well. For business, and this is a business travel forum, I would fly early morning and have a choice of returns late in the day.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello Bucksnet

As I am written on several occasions before in the magazine and on this Forum … East Coast first class fares are good value.

In the case of London-Dundee or v.v. the smart traveller will use ‘split-ticketing.’ In other words, he or she combines a London-Edinburgh or v.v. Scottish Executive Ticket with a separate ticket Edinburgh-Dundee.

The Scottish Executive ticket is sold at the fixed price of £229 so it need not be booked weeks in advance.

The outward leg need only be booked up to 1800 the day before departure. The return leg can be open-dated.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/archive/2013/june-2013/special-reports/train-vs-plane

[Author]

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