November 4, 200916 yr Britain's first £1,000 train ticket sparks row over soaring rail fares By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 7:09 AM on 04th November 2009 Comments (203) Add to My Stories A 1,700-mile first class train journey from Cornwall to the remote Scottish fishing village of Kyle of Lochalsh - and back again - certainly sounds like a grand trip. And now it's got a price tag to match. The first £1,000 fare in the history of Britain's railways has been revealed by a survey showing how long- distance prices have soared since privatisation in the mid-1990s. The trip from Newquay costs £1,002 if the ticket is bought on the day of travel, and has met with fierce criticism. Enlarge Expensive: There has been outrage over the introduction of Britain's first £1,000 rail fare Yesterday Stephen Hammond, Tory transport minister, said: 'Due to Labour's micromanagement of the railway, farepayers have become all too used to appalling value for money. 'The revelation of a £1,000 fare really takes the biscuit.' As recently as September last year, the same journey would have set passengers back just £486. More... Comment: Why the price shame of our railways will keep me on the roadUpside of the downturn: London named one of world's best-value citiesBleak future of travel: mass airport closures and 'eco' stigma of flying The cost is even higher if you want to travel in comfort. A sleeper berth on the overnight section of the 20-hour, 30-minute journey costs an extra £43 each way. But incredibly given the price, the trains on the first and last legs of the journey (from Newquay to Par, which is also in Cornwall, and from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh) do not even have first class carriages. Barry Doe, the rail expert who carried out the research, said: 'For the price I would expect to be given a meal as soon as I got on board. Enlarge 'What do you get with [ operator] CrossCountry? For the first 183 miles you might get some paltry snacks. You ought to be getting linen tablecloths and wall-to-wall service.' CrossCounty is responsible for the ticket, but the route is shared with First Great Western and Scotrail. Mr Doe's research also found that in 1995, the last year British Rail set all fares before privatisation, a first class return from London to Manchester bought on the day of travel was £134. That has since trebled to £387. The massive increases have been triggered in part by the recession. There is a two-tier system of rail fares - regulated ones that can only go up by 1 per cent more than inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index, and unregulated ones set by the industry. Unregulated fares have seen even bigger rises than normal recently because firms have been under pressure due to falling revenue. Cat Hobbs, from the Campaign for Better Transport, said: 'This £1,000 fare is ridiculous and highlights how passengers are being squeezed. 'We know that UK fares are the highest in Europe and we think that it's about time the government took action, brought down fares and gave people an incentive to take the train.' A CrossCountry spokesman said: 'We've never sold one of these fares but there has to be a fare for every route. 'The price of a first- class saver return (book in advance) return is £561. That's what people will pay if they want to do that route.' Starting at Newquay, the journey involves changes at Par, Plymouth, Birmingham, Crewe, Inverness and finally Kyle of Lochalsh in the north west of Scotland. ˜One of the country's biggest rail companies is set to be nationalised on December 12. National Express's East Coast mainline business, which operates between King's Cross and Edinburgh, will be rebranded as East Coast after running up huge losses. Services will remain the same.. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1224906/First-1000-UK-train-fare-Newquay-Kyle-Lochalsh-sparks-outrage-soaring-prices.html#ixzz0VtBvEDJ1
November 4, 200916 yr OMG that is ridiculous!! Cost of train fares is really expensive now though, but that is a joke :shocked2:
November 4, 200916 yr Author OMG that is ridiculous!! Cost of train fares is really expensive now though, but that is a joke :shocked2: But not a funny one, especially when you take the "shitty" service into consideration.:angry:
November 4, 200916 yr But not a funny one, especially when you take the "shitty" service into consideration.:angry: No definitely not a funny joke! I looked at train tickets for Glasgow to Devon, which fair enough is quite a distance but it was costing upwards of £150... :stunned::rolleyes:
November 4, 200916 yr That's ridiculous! :o Though i spend just under €3 for a train ticket which is only about a 10 - 15 minute drive depends on traffic and stuff. A journey which could take 5 minutes on a good day :P and i should be paying 6 :P I love being small. :nice:
November 4, 200916 yr Author That's ridiculous! :o Though i spend just under €3 for a train ticket which is only about a 10 - 15 minute drive depends on traffic and stuff. A journey which could take 5 minutes on a good day :P and i should be paying 6 :P I love being small. :nice: Cheat, cheat!!:P
November 4, 200916 yr Author hey, atleast i pay :laugh4: No one ever checks because It's a small line. Is that why you travel on it, then?:P
November 5, 200916 yr I thought the purpose of government was to help the poor? What has the government to do with this? British Rail has been privatised in 1993, what you see here is the result.
November 5, 200916 yr But not a funny one, especially when you take the "shitty" service into consideration.:angry: I couldnt agree more! Public transport in the UK is a nightmare. My bus didnt turn up yesterday so I had to wait an hour for the next one to arrive and they didnt even aplogise.:angry:
November 5, 200916 yr What has the government to do with this? British Rail has been privatised in 1993, what you see here is the result. Yesterday Stephen Hammond, Tory transport minister, said: 'Due to Labour's micromanagement of the railway, farepayers have become all too used to appalling value for money. If it's private, what has Labour got to do with it? The government can't micromanage something and then claim it's been "privatized". The current British government has greater practical control over the citizenry than did Hitler at the height of the Third Reich.
November 5, 200916 yr Whenever someone says "public"-this or "public"-that, just think about public restrooms. That's what socializing something does.
November 5, 200916 yr Government love to "privative" businesses and still be their puppet master then blame them when things go bad....it's very convenient.
November 5, 200916 yr Author The current British government has greater practical control over the citizenry than did Hitler at the height of the Third Reich. That sounds about right.................................... :rolleyes:
November 5, 200916 yr That's ridiculous :angry: That table showing what else you could do with that money says it all really :\
November 6, 200916 yr If it's private, what has Labour got to do with it? Nothing, the Tories are the ones who created this mess in the first place. The current British government has greater practical control over the citizenry than did Hitler at the height of the Third Reich. You really don't know very much about history, do you? It'd almost be funny if it wasn't so sad.
November 6, 200916 yr Nothing, the Tories are the ones who created this mess in the first place. They(Tories) are a part of the government...thus government created problem, and not a private business.
November 7, 200916 yr It would be much cheaper to drive. It would be much cheaper to buy a car, get it insured and drive. Plus you have the benefits of a radio and a mate.
November 8, 200916 yr They(Tories) are a part of the government...thus government created problem, and not a private business. Wrong. They are part of Parliament, but not of the government. However, they were the government in the early 90s, when the Iron Handbag and John Minor botched up the privatisation of BR, among countless other things.
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