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  1. How have they got to 5.5% with inflation running at 3% and interest rates being lower? Oh, because all the rail workers have went crying asking for massive pay rises again, and get them, but no one else in civil service is allowed them.

  2. Rail fares need to go down to the railcard or advance fares. Obviously, i’m aware there’s capacity constraints on some services, but fares like Cheltenham – Birmingham being £25 walk up is absurd.

  3. Absolute ripping off. However trains getting worse too. And I managed to keep my monthly ticket price the same for the last couple of years by claiming for every delay and cancellation I experienced;)

  4. Sensitive_Jicama_838 on

    I’m honestly very confused about all of this. I’ve seen before that train tickets on average make pretty slim profits because the rolling stock costs are very high. But how have fare prices then outpaced inflation when the rolling stock isn’t being replaced? The other costs for wages etc are obviously going to be related to inflation but if rolling stock is the real killer then why is that not part of the nationalisation discussion?

  5. ash_ninetyone on

    They’re already ripping off passengers. Trains shouldn’t be this expensive to travel on. It’s affordable enough for short distances where travel passes exist.

    If you need to travel a larger distance like say Newcastle to Bristol or Edinburgh to London, it’s cheaper driving or in some cases cheaper flying.

  6. Historical_Cobbler on

    Rail fare rises have been ripping passengers off for over a decade. The service just doesn’t improve, the carriages are increasingly aging.

    It became cheaper to get a car to go to work than catch the train and walk for me.

  7. LogicalReasoning1 on

    Are the public willing to accept higher taxes and/or slashed spending elsewhere to subside tickets more?

    If not then we have to suck it up

  8. AwkwardWaltz3996 on

    When we have the most expensive trains in Europe, it’s not a sign they need to go up

  9. Fuck rail and everyone associated with it in this country. Their greed is only matched by their complete and utter incompetence

  10. Rail companies have the “don’t have a choice” market. People get trains because they don’t have a choice and therefore can charge as much as they want because people will have to pay it

  11. I managed to take 2 trains on a 3-4 hour journey from Amsterdam Schipol airport all the way to the very south of the Netherlands, and it only cost me around maybe €30 at most. Insanely comfortable, very clean, modern, and no issues at all. I get part of it is different infrastructure and culture, but I really don’t get it

    What are they doing that we’re not??

  12. Next_Replacement_566 on

    Cost of EVERYTHING is too much. Tax reforms and nationalising industries and railways are needed. This is getting ridiculous now. Sick of the rich thinking they’re victims when they have to pay more tax. They’re still rich!

  13. WhalingSmithers00 on

    Public transport is in a horrible position in this country. It’s been poorly managed for so long that it’s expensive and unreliable.

    To fix it you would have to invest and subsidise heavily. However, because it’s currently expensive and unreliable a lot of people don’t use it. You’d have a hard time convincing people that the spending is worthwhile until service and prices improve. It all creates an impasse and we’re stuck with a shit system.

  14. PsychoticDust on

    I don’t drive, and every time I have to go somewhere 2 hours away, I always think about how I could get a plane ticket to another country for less. It is, and has been extortionate for years.

  15. UnratedRamblings on

    This happens every time the prices go up. I agree that it’s ripping off, but there has to be a tipping point for this.

    I can’t even see train travel as a viable alternative these days – used to be a first choice for going to one of the bigger towns/cities near me. Now – cheaper to drive there.

  16. William_Ballsucker on

    Lol it’s already a rip off. Even if prices were halved, it would still be a rip off.

  17. Effective_Stomach945 on

    Recently went to Ireland. Train from Dublin to Cork was 6 euro for a 3 hour journey
    Costs me £30 a day to get into my office from Essex into London…

  18. Needs nationalising and a complete overhaul of the fares.

    Public transport should be cheap and easily accessible. Most of the world is able to make it work, so why can’t we?

  19. Southern_Voice_8670 on

    They say it every year and every year it goes up anyway and every year the government ignores it.

  20. SportsterDriver on

    I drive into London when I have to, as it’s cheaper to pay to park all day and drive + you can take multiple people. It’s also faster.

    There’s something wrong with the public transit system when that is the case.

  21. There’s a lot of routes with multiple tocs which have wildly different prices for one stop

    The problem shouldn’t exist

  22. The insane prices of train tickets do nothing but empty trains that still run, and push people towards cars and inefficient, climate change gas producing vehicles.

  23. TipTopTerrific on

    I’ve been to many countries and literally all of them have a train service which makes ours look shameful.

    The older I get the less I seem to like this country. Of course we do some good things, but train prices we are shameful on.

  24. RepresentativeOk3943 on

    The only reason I’ve taken train is if driving was around double the time on weekends due to road closures.