myuserid Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 I've been taking the train quite a lot recently as its cheaper than taking the car, quicker and I can catch up on the paper work. Normally when booking tickets I type my departure point and destination, they then sort out the changes etc. My normal train travel: Oxenholme > Change Crewe > Hereford = £57 return. Today I decided to do a bit of searching and see if it would be cheaper to plan my own journey. Oxenholme > Manchester picadilly > Hereford = £15.40, note: the train I'm catching from Manchester is the same train I would catch from Crewe to Hereford. To top it off, on the way back I can do: Hereford > London Paddington = £15.20 London Euston > back to Oxenholme = £10.90 So a return my way will either cost £30.40, or if I want to go the London way and kill two birds with one stone £41.50. It just doesn't make any sense, looks like Crewe is a really expensive station to stop at for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 People who moan about the price of trains are lazy - if you book far enough in advance, or search for different options (as you have) then there are some bargains to be had. I went from Peterborough-Kings X-Windsor and back for £15.50 last year, and at decent times of the day too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 People who moan about the price of trains are lazy So what you are saying then is that if someone urgently has to book a trip from say Brighton to Blackpool and is quoted £330 1st class, he is classed as lazy because he is disgusted with the price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 People who moan about the price of trains are lazy So what you are saying then is that if someone urgently has to book a trip from say Brighton to Blackpool and is quoted £330 1st class, he is classed as lazy because he is disgusted with the price? 1st class? I'd say get a price for a luxury mercedes taxi that has a bar and a dining service and compare the prices If you want to travel in luxury at short notice, you are going to pay for it no matter how you go, unless you have a car. If you are going on a trip in two weeks time, or travel every day to the same destination, it is very easy to get great value fares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 I was infact quoted £220 for 'Standard' fare and £330 for 1st either way, I still cosidered this to be expensive. The girl on the phone explained that if I had booked in advance, I would have been able to get my 1st class tickets for just £75. I replied, so if I had booked this a week ago I would have made huge savings? No, she replied. This went on with me asking similar questions with varying periods of advance booking. Outraged that I couldnt pin her to a specific period I simply asked, so at what point does an advanced booking become an advanced booking? She could not answer me. I now beleive advanced booking is infact, a lottery, based on a first come first served basis. Pretty disgusting really. I can just imagine my customers booking an appointment and thier happy acceptance when I tell them they have to book in advance!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 A good one I know about - London to Llandudno is cheaper than London to Crewe - even though it's the same train and it passes through Crewe on it'sway to Llandudno! Shop around and also try to break up your journey it gets cheaper too. i.e. if you want to go from a to c and the train goes via b anyway, try booking the train from a to b and then from b to c and quite often it's cheaper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning GTS Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 Luckily i just drive them and do not worry about fares. Mind you even the blokes who do that side of the job cannot understand the way the price can vary so much, they just push the buttons and charge whats on the screen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 What I hate most about train companies is they justify the charges as being comparable to driving. Which may be so with one person in the car but certainly not for a car full. To me they have priced the average person off the rails even though we subsidise the whole network through taxes. though having network Rail as a customer I can see where a fair bit of the money goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myuserid Posted November 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 The thing I don't understand is that I'm quadrupling my journey and it turns out to be cheaper, surely thats incorrect and they need to take a look at the current pricing structure. Those figures I gave above are for traveling on the same day on the 22nd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning GTS Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 What I hate most about train companies is they justify the charges as being comparable to driving. Which may be so with one person in the car but certainly not for a car full. To me they have priced the average person off the rails even though we subsidise the whole network through taxes. though having network Rail as a customer I can see where a fair bit of the money goes. You say that but people travelling into London must think its worth it it is not just the travelling cost in a car but the parking and congestion charge as well, Because our trains our packed every day and most station car parks fill up even though they have been extended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 What I hate most about train companies is they justify the charges as being comparable to driving. Which may be so with one person in the car but certainly not for a car full. To me they have priced the average person off the rails even though we subsidise the whole network through taxes. though having network Rail as a customer I can see where a fair bit of the money goes. yep, Network Rail lose an awful lot of money through contractors who see the railway as a license to print money, although they are clamping down on it. (not saying you do this of course) people seem to forget where the costs go - your car journey may cost you £60 in fuel, but it also costs you all the maintenance costs involved with your car, spread out over the average mileage. The train has to be paid for, the track maintenance, signalling electricity, overhead line electricity, the maintenance of these systems, the repairs and replacement of these systems, the maintenance/running cost of the stations you might stop at for a coffee/ the toilet. Fair enough it might be cheaper in the car, but in the car you dont get a hot meal unless you stop, you cant hold a business meeting, you cant drink, use the internet, sleep, go to the toilet whenever you want and so on. PERSONALLY, i rarely go anywhere on the train, i drive wherever I go. I prefer driving. But, I'll keep championing rail travel, it pays my wages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyfox Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 you can always go on the trainline.com www.thetrainline.com/ Dont know weather it help's you can pay online as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loopy bunny blaster Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 if your on about crewe in cheshire i'd be careful ! full of chavs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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