Completely changed train fare structure. How does it affect you?

Mr_Gordon_2

I couldn't work out why my regular journey I make seemed to be unavailable on every day I chose. Maybe this is it.

I travel down to Oxford from Glasgow several times a year and am still eligible for a Young Person's Railcard (renamed 16-25 Railcard it would now seem). When Virgin had the cross country franchise I could just buy a through ticket without a problem, now I tend to buy one ticket to Birmingham then get another to Oxford as Virgin allowed you to use your railcard against first class where Cross Country didn't. I'm 6'4 and find the normal seats don't have enough leg room for that length of journey so managing to get the majority of the journey in a bit more comfort was great.

This usually worked out at about £25 each way to Brimingham from Glasgow advance purchase then a standard class saver return (or similar) to Oxford. I'd try to plan about 2-3 months ahead to get this.

Last week I booked my first class ticket using my railcard to Birmingham for £25, but every one for the return leg 12 days later is £146, no matter what time of the day or day of the week I pick.

Virgin's site always seemed to condense the tickets down to flexible and advance anyway, compared with the other operators. I can't see this being much of a step forward.

Have the tickets just not been released yet or is this an end to my reasonably priced journey?

Gacker

misterjohn wrote: »

National Express have the best site for researching fares, as they seem to show all the possibilities for the journey, with the relevant prices. Also, like First Great Western, they don't charge for using your credit card.

National Express East Coast does indeed have a first-class new high-speed mainline interface that not only makes it easy to check availability of every type of ticket for each service, but also to see at a glance all different types and fare-levels of ticket across an entire day’s services. National Express East Anglia, however, has a clunky old cattle-truck of a single-track branch line interface that gives a wholly unintended meaning to the welcome message on the home page: “As we take a more integrated approach to the way we run all our National Express businesses, we hope you will see the difference.”

harryhound

My family seems to have been exporting itself since the 18th century, starting with the tax dodgers who got a free "POM" passage to the colony now called USA.

So when I have foreign visitors, they just cannot understand why it takes at least an hour or two to "plan" a visit to another relative here in the UK - until they see the saving.

Is this a clever way of "taxing" tourists or usual UK SNAFU?

Thinks: Is there a business opportunity for setting up a caravan in a Heathrow car park with an internet connection called "Travel Dodges R Us" ?

Harry.

fiscalfreckles

harryhound wrote: »

My family seems to have been exporting itself since the 18th century, starting with the tax dodgers who got a free "POM" passage to the colony now called USA.

So when I have foreign visitors, they just cannot understand why it takes at least an hour or two to "plan" a visit to another relative here in the UK - until they see the saving.

Is this a clever way of "taxing" tourists or usual UK SNAFU?

Thinks: Is there a business opportunity for setting up a caravan in a Heathrow car park with an internet connection called "Travel Dodges R Us" ?

Harry.

But this is what annoys me, its all too darned complicated. You have to have time, patience and determination to unearth a decent fare and I never seem to pay the same fare twice (travel long distance with Virgin about 3-4 times a year.)

The Virgin website doesn't levy any extra charges for postage, c.card etc. BTW.

Man_U_Mum

A week ago I booked a train fare from Cardiff to Paddington. Booked 2 singles and paid £34.50. Same journey now is £40. Not huge saving but better than nothing!

davidwatkin

The so-called simplification of rail fares is nothing but a scam to put them up - effectively by huge percentages.
I normally travel by CrossCountry Trains from Birmingham New St to Stoke on Trent, leaving on the 0918 and returning at some point in the afternoon. This used to be a Cheap Day Return and cost £9.40.
Today, I discovered (after a lengthy exchange with the ticket seller, who didn't know what the rules were now) costs £11 but you can only travel after 0930 and have to return before 1515 or after 1830.
This is a hike of the fare of over 10%.
However, if I have to travel at the same times as before, the fare is now a Standard Day Return of £14.90, effectively an increase of over 50%.
It's also worth pointing out - which is not mentioned anywhere that I could see - that Season Tickets have also gone up - how's that for 'simplification'?

movilogo

When govt. says that they are simplyfying (or improving/enhancing/expanding etc.) something, the implied meaning is that overall it is going to be more expensive and the service will be worse.

Not rocket science really. They never said fare will be "cheaper". Probably 10% cases it will be cheaper but rest 90% cases will see an increase in fare.

Overall fare increase. In the era of frequent fuel price rise, energy price rise, house price fall, job loss they can't say rail fare increase. So, it a ploy to average Joe public feel that as if fares have become simplified [in reality when they have increased].

trainuser

OK, I've read a lot of comments and heard a LOT of complaints from people at train stations so thought that I would actually try to do some-thing about the mad price increases and fares in general other than moan.

I was shocked (naive I know) to find 6283 petitions on various things on the 10 Downing Street Site, the current top one at writing this being
Allow the Red Arrows to Fly at the 2012 Olympics with 394070 signatures.

I searched under rail and train and there are PAGES of requests to lower train prices - for some reason people seem to create a new petition instead of signing the current ones set up, with the result that people have signed lots of different petitions diluting the impact. I've tried to sign as many as I agree with without doing this as a full time job!!!

Here are some links to just a FEW of them (there were 343!)

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Cap-train-fares/
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/UK-RAIL-PASS/
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/FAIR-RAIL-PRICES/
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/NetworkRail/
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Railincrease/
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Fare-Increases/sign
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/railprice


I feel helpless to make a difference.

gner_ex

LindaS wrote: »

I live in Coventry and commute to London. I'm under 26 so use my young persons rail card to get the semi-flexible return ticket for 24.25.
As of September I can only use the very expensive anytime ticket due to the hours I work. Even the advance tickets are coming up as £29 for one way if I buy a day in advance!

I have thought long and hard about this and have decided my only option is to move.

You'd be surprised how cheap a season ticket is. To London Terminals only (Euston or Marylebone):
7 Days 1 Month 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months £178.50 £645.60 £1,936.60 £3,873.10 £6,724.00
London Midland trains only (to Euston):
7 Days 1 Month 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months £114.10 £438.20 £1,314.50 £2,628.90 £4,564.00
Depending where in London you head, you can get a travelcard (zones 1 to 6) priced as follows (this is valid from Coventry to London (any operator any route) and for any Underground/train/bus within zones 1-6):

7 Days 1 Month 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months £186.50 £676.30 ? ? £7,044
You can then use a season ticket for any journey that is within your permitted routes, for example you could do Coventry to Rugby, Coventry to High Wycombe... etc etc.

LindaS

gner_ex wrote: »

You'd be surprised how cheap a season ticket is. To London Terminals only (Euston or Marylebone):
7 Days 1 Month 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months £178.50 £645.60 £1,936.60 £3,873.10 £6,724.00
London Midland trains only (to Euston):
7 Days 1 Month 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months £114.10 £438.20 £1,314.50 £2,628.90 £4,564.00
Depending where in London you head, you can get a travelcard (zones 1 to 6) priced as follows (this is valid from Coventry to London (any operator any route) and for any Underground/train/bus within zones 1-6):

7 Days 1 Month 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months £186.50 £676.30 ? ? £7,044
You can then use a season ticket for any journey that is within your permitted routes, for example you could do Coventry to Rugby, Coventry to High Wycombe... etc etc.

Thanks, but a monthly price of £645 is still over £200 more per month than what I used to pay (since you don't get rail card discount on season tickets). That's £200 I don't have... =(