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washerboy
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The prices can get silly mind, for me and three colleagues the tickets for a trip booked by the company that wanted us elsewhere for a weekend were printed with ticket prices of a total of £2200. I suspect they could have sent us by helicopter for less. 

 

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3 minutes ago, Wb123 said:

The prices can get silly mind, for me and three colleagues the tickets for a trip booked by the company that wanted us elsewhere for a weekend were printed with ticket prices of a total of £2200. I suspect they could have sent us by helicopter for less. 

 

you could have had a weekend in Majorca or similar?

1 hour ago, Scully said:

I love travelling by train. I know it can be a pain when they’re either full or late, but overall I really enjoy rail travel. 

Yes great when it's for leisure, but a pain if you need to arrive on time.

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1 hour ago, Scully said:

I love travelling by train. I know it can be a pain when they’re either full or late, but overall I really enjoy rail travel. 

 

32 minutes ago, figgy said:

I enjoy rail travel, sit back relax enjoy a book or the Vries. 

Car travel in modern traffic is awful.

You wouldn't in rush hour peak times in london, especially on the tube in summer, packed in like sardines in 100° heat.

Edited by Newbie to this
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The government and environmentalists complain so much about people using cars etc! But when ONE return trip to London can pay for the 12 month car insurance, plus the fuel to get to London and back with change to spend it all makes sense why so many still travel by car! Add to that the reliability of the services it says it all. 

 

Newcastle  to london £160. For £40 I can get from Paris to Switzerland? 

Edited by Lord Geordie
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30 minutes ago, Newbie to this said:

 

You wouldn't in rush hour peak times in london, especially on the tube in summer, packed in like sardines in 100° heat.

Been there and done it, not nice but no better driving in London in the same heat and rush hour.

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Everyone should travel by train at least once, which  if you do it in the UK once is probably all it will be. Overcrowded, late cancelled, loud people talking on their mobiles (doubtful if there is anyone at the other end) it's just a look at me look at me person. Not cleaned after each journey, the list goes on.

Here in the north we use Northern Rail for our regular trip to Carlisle to visit daughter and granddaughter; On a scale of 1-10 for everything including common sense I guess they would score a negative. Unfortunately it's the only service we've got to get across country so hey ho'   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I use the train all the time to go to Cardiff from Paddington, its pretty good, you get an allocated seat with a plug. The price varies considerably but £15-20 is not unusual. Its usually pretty reliable.

As from this summer I will start doing Paddington to St Austell in Cornwall on a regular basis, I've already started looking at the prices as I am set up on the trainline and GWR websites to receive notifications of deals to Cardiff I just added St Austell as well. £35 seems about the best I have seen.

The thing about train travel is knowing how to go about getting the right prices 

Edited by Vince Green
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On ‎31‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 21:59, Lord Geordie said:

Newcastle  to london £160. For £40 I can get from Paris to Switzerland? 

I can book London to Newcastle in two weeks time for £36.95 on Trainline website using my railcard, I have just checked it. And that will be a reserved seat with a plug for your lap top and a buffet car. That's why I use the trains so much they are cheap and I find them very comfortable

The Journey time is 2 hours 50 mins, you would struggle to drive it in twice that time

The thing is its very variable, Newcastle playing at home, big concert at the Sage and the tickets go through the roof

Edited by Vince Green
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3 hours ago, Vince Green said:

 

The thing about train travel is knowing how to go about getting the right prices 

This. A mate and me used to compete with each other to find the cheapest return fares to London as we both went there for various reasons quite regularly. I could never beat him as he seemed to have it down to a fine art, and once did it for 48 quid. 

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12 hours ago, Sha Bu Le said:

 loud people talking on their mobiles 

 

You can book a quiet carriage you know? Often its only a few extra pounds for first class and that can be a real game changer.

On ‎31‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 23:10, NoBodyImportant said:

I have never been on a train.  Kinda want to through. 

Where are you? I think you are in the US? Amtrak is good these days

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34 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

You can book a quiet carriage you know? Often its only a few extra pounds for first class and that can be a real game changer.

Where are you? I think you are in the US? Amtrak is good these days

went from Arbroath to Bolton once in first class after working night shift, their was a carriage missing really busy train heading for Edinburgh? And we asked nice, just go to first class sir 🤩🤩 very nice indeed.

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47 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

 

Where are you? I think you are in the US? Amtrak is good these days

Yea,  I think it would be fun.  I see Amtrak run the anywhere in the Lower 48 for $79.  I have thought about picking somewhere on the west coast and riding out.  Round trip would be $160 and I would see 6500 miles of the US.  As far as normal travel it doesn’t make sense.  Gas is $1.99  a gallon and my wife car gets 35mpg.  If we take a train to the beach for a weekend we would still have to rent a car while we where there.  

There is a coal train that runs the Smoky mountain national park in NC.  It was on the top ten train rides in the world list.  But it’s like 150$ per person for the 3 hour tour.  

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1 hour ago, Vince Green said:

I can book London to Newcastle in two weeks time for £36.95 on Trainline website using my railcard, I have just checked it. And that will be a reserved seat with a plug for your lap top and a buffet car. That's why I use the trains so much they are cheap and I find them very comfortable

The Journey time is 2 hours 50 mins, you would struggle to drive it in twice that time

The thing is its very variable, Newcastle playing at home, big concert at the Sage and the tickets go through the roof

I used British rails website and that was what I was quoted for! My nephew is in the RAF and one day wanting a return from oxford to Newcastle was quoted over £350! 

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9 hours ago, Lord Geordie said:

I used British rails website

???

I think what's going on here is that the first Google search result for the string "British Rail" is the National Rail enquiry site, which is run by the Train Operating Companies' group. This site will then send you to any one of the several providers to actually sell you a ticket, once you've looked up the train you want using their timetable.

As for rail travel in the UK, it's...only ok at best.  I've recently travelled from Bristol to a certain North Western town and had to use the 'Transpenine Express'  - what an embarrassing joke of a service.

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