Hacker News Reader

Comment by chestnut-tree | Hacker News Reader

This is no surprise to anyone in the UK. We have the highest fares in Europe[1]. Although you can buy tickets in advance at certain off-peak times for less, it's not always practical or convenient.

The problem is that peak fares can rise to astronomical levels if they are unregulated (i.e. can be freely set by the train operator).

An example: a 2 hour train journey from London to Manchester (approx 200 miles/321 km) one-way booked for a peak-time slot a week in advance can cost as much as £166 (approx €217 / $235), which is frankly ludicrous.

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/04/action-for-rail...

View on HN

When my wife and I were travelling around europe a few years ago we decided to fly back into manchester instead of london, thinking it would be great to catch a game (of anything) and then head back to finish the trip.

Was a complete surprise that we ended up paying about 160 pounds each, and coming from using australian dollars was a complete kick in the face.

Horrible way to end a great trip

(For comparison, an equivalent train trip today in australia would have cost us about 50 pounds for the two of us)

There's a taxi service between Manchester and London, costs £270. It would have been cheaper than the train. Something is seriously wrong.

> An example: a 2 hour train journey from London to Manchester (approx 200 miles/321 km) one-way booked for a peak-time slot a week in advance can cost as much as £166 (approx €217 / $235), which is frankly ludicrous.

If you want a return then it's double, too, unlike many journeys where the return adds 10p to the cost. If there are two of you, it's actually cheaper to get a taxi (quotes from £250-300 each way).

However, one thing to point out is that the £166 price is not an advance fare, that's the anytime ticket. You may have reserved a seat on a particular train but you can travel on any of them (outward journeys on the same day only). Off-peak advance fares go down to about £25 each way.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com