Rail Travel costs in perspective

I think we should rip up the tracks and put down layers of crushed aggregate with the top layers being binded with lets say bitumen.  We then flatten the stations and make a large multi-storey building with little bays in all around.  You could then sit in a little box with wheels and an engine that you own, with your music and your things in.  You would only need to sit in chewing gum and stale beer if you chose to do so...   If only such a thing could be done.

I would also only image the German network to be some form of almost alien perfection.  The only downside with it would be the day you are 3 seconds late to the platform and the train is pulling out.  In England you would still have a 45 minute wait while the wrong type of worms are encouraged in an eco friendly way to vacate the track.

They charge that crazy amount of money because they can. What else are you going to do?

Commuting from Brighton to London was a nightmare for the 9 years I did it. The prices just went up and up, and despite them constantly telling us that the extra money was needed for improvements, I never saw any. Trains became more crowded and less safe. The toilets never worked and there were often times when I would miss the train from London Bridge because I physically could not get on.

I was glad to see the back of that.

My advice, move to Germany. Nice people, great beer, sausage, comfortable trains.

And great apple cake.

Right up my straße.

Thats good value! Its only £6.50 each way. 

And you wouldnt get to run much of a car on that either. 

German trains run with typical German efficiency in my experience. Not quite as perfect as Swiss trains (I used to live in Switzerland) but damn close!

My experience in Berlin - crawl out of night club at 5.30am blitzed but with a very friendly crowd. Walk 100 yards to S-Bahn feeling perfectly safe. Train arrives within 5mins. Pleasant and easy journey across the city making two changes to get home within 40 mins. All covered on my weekly ticket.

Night out in Glasgow. Get chucked out into the street at 3am with loads of drunken idiots looking for a fight and chucking bottles etc. No trains to Edinburgh after midnight anyway so get the Fright/Night Bus back to Edinburgh. Total journey time over 2 hours although the bus bit felt like a lifetime. Not to be repeated and I feel like I've been robbed for the "pleasure" of getting home.

Moral of story - in UK stay sober and drive home. It costs less in fuel and I enjoy it just as much.

I have to go to glasgow from B'Ham quite often and I always fly.

Plane - 2.20 total journey time (from entering BHX to leaving GLA) with seat all the way

price £75 return

Train 5.45 total journey time usually have to stand at B'ham for a few stops unless I booked a seat (then have to argue with person in said booked seat)

Price £149 return

absolute no brainer - I'm at a loss as to why anyone uses trains - I used to commute 20 miles into B'Ham by train and the amount of times it was cancelled was a joke - 20 minute train journey became either a 2 hour bus journey that called at every station or a £30 taxi.

they should have inproved the infrastructure years ago instead of lining shareholders pockets.

Ouch.  That's quite a lot for a refurbed Rocket and some cattle wagons.

You could drive yourself insane trying to work that one out.  So many variables, too little lifespan.  Don't do it.

£400 per family in the UK for the train subsidy I heard on the radio today. If true, that's ridiculous.

I live in NE Scotland, and I checked recently - an annual pass for my 20 mile commute is £1,100, so not so bad. But that's leaving from a station 4 miles from my house, and arriving 2 miles from my destination. It takes 25 mins by train, but then I have to get to and from the respective stations, so add at least another 10 mins to the 4 miles section if I use my car, and 20 minutes to walk at the other end i.e. 55 minutes at best. By car it's 30 to 40 minutes. I could use my bike I suppose, but arriving at work sweating like Ben Johnson giving a urine sample is not my idea of travel

OK taking the train would be cheaper than taking my car, but I already own the car, and would need it anyway, so I'd already pay insurance, road tax, etc. So it adds cost to take the train, I'd have to sit with god knows who, and probably walk in the rain. Incentive to do that aside from getting a bit fitter?

I'm not a train hater, and have enjoyed relatively cheap and fast trains in France and Japan.

PS - Inverness to Aberdeen train passes me occasionally on morning commute. Maybe 60 people on it at rush hour at most, how much are we all paying to subsidise this for so few people?

PPS - British train tickets, how the hell do you know which train to get on if you're only going part of the full route e.g. if I went from station A to B, but the train was finally going to C. The ticket I buy states only station A and B, but not C, so I can't find the train on the screen as it only shows C. So I have to go to the platform and look at all the stops, but don't know which platform to look on. Normally end up asking someone. Very occasionally the main screen shows the stops. Am I missing something obvious? I've never seen another counrty who do this.

Regardless of what it costs to travel on Britain national railwork, i have never used such an anti social way to travel. loads of seats pre-booked, that nobody turns up for?, if you do sit in one and the traveller DOES turn up?...well,you'd think you'd stoen all there cash!,in the cities?....well,be prepared to stand a lot,even Women have to stand, that's how bad mannered it gets,costs?,probably dearer than driving, less stressful by Train?......supposed to be.