Walk-on train fares could be slashed in the UK - Polidicks

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/10252359/Walk-on-train-fares-could-be-slashed.html][img]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/thetelegraph_275.gif[/img][/url] [img]http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02191/station_2191977b.jpg[/img] [i]Passengers could be able to buy cut-price rail tickets as little as 10 minutes before boarding the train, under proposals being considered by ministers.[/i] [quote=telegraph.co.uk] [b]The Government is ready to end historic restrictions, which bans cheap fares being offered on the day of travel. According to industry sources ministers are sympathetic to plans to allow train operators to enjoy the same flexibility as the airline industry.[/b] They are likely to be included in a package of proposals due to be unveiled later in the year, when the long delayed ticketing review finally surfaces from the Department for Transport. [b]This could, for example, cut the price of a ticket from London to Birmingham from £49 for an off peak return to as little as £7.50. The cost of a return trip to Manchester or Liverpool could drop from £77.30 to £12.50.[/b] Even the most expensive peak time tickets, such as £308 return to Manchester, could be made available for a fraction of the full fare [b]– although the discount would depend on how many were left unsold.[/b] Initial calculations from the industry suggest this could cost operators about £25 million to implement, which would have an impact on how much they bid for franchises in the future. Ministers are also ready to end an anomaly under which one-way tickets cost as much as returns. This would enable savvy passengers to get the best possible fare. [b]However implementing the plan would see train operators seeking millions of pounds compensation from the Government.[/b] ... [url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/10252359/Walk-on-train-fares-could-be-slashed.html]Source[/url] [/quote]

next up, nationalisation

[QUOTE=codenamecueball;41895432]next up, nationalisation[/QUOTE] you [I]derailed[/I] the thread pretty quick [editline]19th August 2013[/editline] But seriously, I hope this happens. Train fares are ridiculous

I don't get it. Is the UK train system currently like the airline industry where you have to order a ticket before the day you get the train? Here in Australia you buy the ticket on the day and it has one price, you don't get any discount depending on how early or late you buy the ticket.

[QUOTE=Antdawg;41895619]I don't get it. Is the UK train system currently like the airline industry where you have to order a ticket before the day you get the train? Here in Australia you buy the ticket on the day and it has one price, you don't get any discount depending on how early or late you buy the ticket.[/QUOTE] Pretty much, only it somehow ends up being more expensive. :v:

You can buy tickets on the day, right before you get on the train. (Or you could just not buy a ticket and hide in the toilet for the journey)

[QUOTE=Coffee;41895686] (Or you could just not buy a ticket and hide in the toilet for the journey)[/QUOTE] Have fun getting passed barriers if the stations have them.

[QUOTE=Antdawg;41895619]I don't get it. Is the UK train system currently like the airline industry where you have to order a ticket before the day you get the train? Here in Australia you buy the ticket on the day and it has one price, you don't get any discount depending on how early or late you buy the ticket.[/QUOTE] we have several pricing scales three types of tickets exist anytime - available as single or return, on every route. the most expensive kind, available in advance at no discount. for example, on my local line, the anytime single is £3.00 or return £4.70 off peak - available mostly for return tickets past 9:30am. some lines have evening peak and some "off peak" singles exist, but are not totally common. can be bought in advance at no discount. local off-peak for me is £3.50 return, no singles. advance - you can order in advance, online or in station and collect the tickets after sometimes at a great discount depending on how far in advance you do it. it's like 3 months before until the tickets open . not available on all routes but the discount can be massive (a single from glasgow to preston for example is £70-80 normally or £10 in advance) [editline]19th August 2013[/editline] super off peak exists but who gives a fuck, similar principle to off peak [editline]19th August 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Vasili;41895697]Have fun getting passed barriers if the stations have them.[/QUOTE] use the key

How about we stop train companies making it cheaper to buy tickets to the individual destinations of the journey rather than the journey as a whole.

[QUOTE=Vasili;41895697]Have fun getting passed barriers if the stations have them.[/QUOTE] Eh, the stations I regularly use always have the barriers open for some reason.

Looks like I'm going to have to invest in a student railcard if this is the case. Hopefully it'll be cheaper though.

[QUOTE=Vasili;41895697]Have fun getting passed barriers if the stations have them.[/QUOTE] Not at rural stations!

[QUOTE=massaki;41896184]Looks like I'm going to have to invest in a student railcard if this is the case. Hopefully it'll be cheaper though.[/QUOTE] £30 for a year of (mostly) 1/3rd off rail fares is definitely worth it. for me, one trip to london and it's already paid for itself

[QUOTE=Coffee;41896194]Not at rural stations![/QUOTE] Ride to a station 300 miles outside of where you want to go, ticketless. Walk 300 miles to get there. Save money.

[QUOTE=Autumn;41896262]£30 for a year of (mostly) 1/3rd off rail fares is definitely worth it. for me, one trip to london and it's already paid for itself[/QUOTE] I've been fined several times by ticket guards because apparently the student railcards don't cover single or returns but only season passes. I didn't really get it either considering it didn't say anything about it on the ticket machines. Was bullshit because i only went into college twice a week which cost £20 a day, apparently the only way my student railcard would've been valid was if i got a season pass which was out the question. Basically i hate southwest trains a lot.

i'm assuming you were travelling on peak services though, to get to college? 16-25 is only valid on off-peak and advance. although now on-peak has been replaced by anytime which i use my railcard with everyday but i know of places (where i used to live down south) that had similar restrictions in place to what you've said. but saying they only cover season passes is flat out wrong, it might just have been for your specific journey that was the only valid option

It is times like this where I am glad I have free nationwide train travel until I am 26.

can someone tell me why prices are so high.?

[QUOTE=con7con;41898733]It is times like this where I am glad I have free nationwide train travel until I am 26.[/QUOTE] What is this black magic.

Wow UK trains are expensive.

[QUOTE=AshMan55;41901005]Wow UK trains are expensive.[/QUOTE] Trains are expensive, Buses are expensive, petrol/diesel is expensive. Traveling in the UK is expensive.

All we need now is for them to reduce the price of season tickets, after I have paid £4K+ for my yearly travel from Essex to London for work, it really takes a huge hit on how much money you have left over a month.

[QUOTE=codenamecueball;41895432]next up, nationalisation[/QUOTE] That's a horrible idea. Not to mention all of the problems involved with re-nationalizing it, whenever the Tories get into power they would end up doing this: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Act_1962[/url]

Cutting train prices is a good thing. It's well needed. My brother and I travelled down to London recently and we had to make a connection from Edinburgh to London. We looked at all ways of travel, including train and flying as those were the fastest (flying obviously being the fastest). Logic would dictate flying being the more expensive option, but I was proved otherwise. Booking about 2 months in advance, a train from Edinburgh to London (Liverpool Street I think, I can't remember), was £120 return. A flight with Easyjet was £90 return. And the flights with Easyjet were pretty pleasant as well, far more so than what a train journey would have been.

[QUOTE=Vasili;41895697]Have fun getting passed barriers if the stations have them.[/QUOTE] Use the stations that don't? I know people who would walk 10 minutes to take the train from a stop that didn't have barriers, saved them a few hundred quid over the course of uni.

[QUOTE=Flapadar;41902037]Use the stations that don't? I know people who would walk 10 minutes to take the train from a stop that didn't have barriers, saved them a few hundred quid over the course of uni.[/QUOTE] My home station doesn't have barriers at all it's amazing I just get a 70p ticket to Stevenage or something just in case ticket inspectors occur

[QUOTE=dcalde78;41901692]Cutting train prices is a good thing. It's well needed. My brother and I travelled down to London recently and we had to make a connection from Edinburgh to London. We looked at all ways of travel, including train and flying as those were the fastest (flying obviously being the fastest). Logic would dictate flying being the more expensive option, but I was proved otherwise. Booking about 2 months in advance, a train from Edinburgh to London (Liverpool Street I think, I can't remember), was £120 return. A flight with Easyjet was £90 return. And the flights with Easyjet were pretty pleasant as well, far more so than what a train journey would have been.[/QUOTE] Buses are cheapest, i can get a return to bristol from london for £9 if i book the day before. Meanwhile the price for the train into london to get that bus is twice as much despite only being 15 miles compared to 120 to bristol.

[QUOTE=massaki;41896184]Looks like I'm going to have to invest in a student railcard if this is the case. Hopefully it'll be cheaper though.[/QUOTE] If you're planning on opening a student bank account, consider going for Santander to get a free 4 year 16-25 student railcard. It's what I'm going to do, sure buying the card by itself isn't that expensive, but when I compared the benefits and conditions and the like, they seemed the best.

[quote] Initial calculations from the industry suggest this could cost operators about £25 million to implement, which would have an impact on how much they bid for franchises in the future. [/quote] which could be solved (surprise) by renationalisation a vertically integrated nationally owned railway company would dramatically reduce costs to the industry and taxpayers

[QUOTE=codenamecueball;41895432]next up, nationalisation[/QUOTE]Eh, the damage is already done. Would probably be cheaper as a whole to let the companies keep it, but give them a birching if they try and exploit customers further.