First £1,000 rail fare revealed
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Reddit
Google
Stumble Upon
Fark
Newsvine
YahooBuzz
Bebo
Twitter
Independent Minds
enlarge
The rise in the cost of train tickets has led to the first £1,000 rail fare, it was revealed today.
The fare - of £1,002 - is for a turn-up-and-go, first-class return from Newquay in Cornwall to the Kyle of Lochalsh in the Scottish Highlands.
Unearthed in a survey of fares by rail expert Barry Doe, the Cornwall to Scotland return trip would cover around 1,700 miles, with tickets able to be bought from the CrossCountry train company.
Mr Doe's research, highlighted in the London Evening Standard, also showed that some standard-class, turn-up-and go return fares have risen 100 per cent in price since the mid-1990s.
A London-to-Manchester return, for example, has gone up from £33 in 1995 to £66.10 now, while a London-to-Newcastle upon Tyne return has risen 84 per cent to £105.
Cat Hobbs, public transport campaigner for the Campaign for Better Transport, said today: "The Newquay £1,000 fare shows just how pricey and complicated the fare structure is.
"We think fares in this country are far too expensive. They are the most expensive in Europe. We think the Government should step in and review how they regulate fares."
Under an annual inflation rate price formula, regulated fares (which include season tickets) will actually go down in January as retail price index inflation is in negative territory.
But Ms Hobbs said today that the Government should not take any credit for this dip in fares as it was merely a result of the recession.
She went on: "Our fear is that the train companies will put up unregulated fares (which include many off-peak tickets) to compensate for the dip in regulated fare income.
"The Government should not let the train companies take all the flak for this. It's up to the Government to change the system."
A spokesman for CrossCountry said: "No-one has actually bought this £1,000 fare but it does exist. Someone wanting a first-class return would be likely to book a saver return in advance and pay £561."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP logged and may be used to prevent further submission. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by the Independent Minds Terms of Service.
- Print Article
- Email Article
-
Click here for copyright permissions
Copyright 2009 Independent News and Media Limited
Comments
I live in Japan home of wonderful railways that are clean, efficient and run on time!
The Shinkansen (the bullet train to give the common title) runs up and down the country on it's dedicated track (elevated for the most part) and a typical ticket - Osaka to Tokyo - 520km costs about £91 one way and takes 2.5 hours.
Major cities also have a network of public and private railways that work together!
How come Britain used to have a private network to rival the world but after nationalization and re-privatization we have a brain-dead network that encourages us to fly, drive or take the bus?
almost everything has been sold for peanuts and the remainder to follow.
these politicians have no shame and no dignity. its time for a french revolution and settle it once again.
Ok, I then still have to get to K-of-L so we'll add in a train that takes 6 hours & costs less than £60.
I am not going to check on hiring a car or going by coach, but I think the point is made; why the heck would anyone go on a train long distance when there are choices like this!
However, walk-on fares in the UK are now so expensive that the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) which includes Cross Country don't like admitting to the existence of these tickets lest it leads to "misuse".
See National Rail Enquiries website, Train Times and Fares/Special Offers/Rovers and Rangers for full details.
also the trains here run on time. in the uk, if you take a train you miss your meeting, that could cost you far more than the ticket. i am british, but i would never contemplate returning to the uk. it sucks.
You can only get to the Kyle of Lochalsh (by rail) by going to Inverness first
Sloppy or what?