Forum menu
I could do bristol to newcastle return on one tank of diesel (about £65) to be honest, but that's not factoring in wear and tear and fixed costs of course.
Nor stress and likely delays.
The train is rarely practical for a variety of reasons, and even less often is it cheaper, but if it's close and a long journey I'd far rather be on the train myself! You've not got to worry about things like parking and rush hour traffic either.
"Why not choose The Robbing Bast&rd Train Company Limited for your nightmare journey to hell? We promise to charge you more than twice the amount it would cost to go in the comfort and convenience of your car and in return you can be squashed into an uncomfortable seat which will really hurt your back in a boiling hot/freezing cold train while subjected to delays.By the way, don't even think about bringing your bike (even if you've booked 100 years in advance) because at the last minute we will omit the carriage with the bike spaces."
wow, really? see my last post, two of us, central scotland-london, £40 each, return. Do that in a car for that price? In 6 hours to Kng's X?
Bikes? easy, easy. Although once at Thurso (when i hadn't booked), I was told there were too many bikes on the train, so they were going in a van to be collected at Inverness. Which they were.
fancied doing glasgow-Edinburgh on canal towpaths. Train ticket, return to Glasgow, train Dundee-Glasgow, cycled to Edinburgh, then used the return to get back to Dundee. Bike went in guards van, stowed by me.
It's not the easiest journey, it could be cheaper to fly from Bristol* to Newcastle. The trains are great for going up and down the country but since Beeching are pretty rubbish for going across.
*Bear in mind that Bristol airport is on the site of the base that the RAF built to teach pilots how to fly in fog, and is in the middle of nowhere. Filton would have been more sensible but some halfwit gave planning permission for houses at the end of the runway (local politics eh..).
I think the best way I can describe train pricing is by using the word "odd".
Sometimes it is very cheap - £2 return to Brum after 5pm from my local station.
Sometimes it is astronomical - £200 return to London on a weekday if I want to get there in time to start work.
Frankly, it needs some central management to get things in order, be that private or public sector.
I think if you book in advance and travel off peak you can probably get a good deal. However, to go on the spur of the moment, exactly from your door to exactly where you are going, at any time of day or night, with bikes, dog, lots of luggage, the car wins every single time.
I can remember working in London and staying just outside Galashiels. Going back on a Friday evening after work was a total nightmare, no seats (train companies are allowed to sell you a ticket but not compelled to guarantee there will be a seat, or room to stand or even a train). It was expensive and horrible and what are you supposed to do when you get to Edinburgh? Public transport to a village outside Galashiels? Really? Oh yes, I forgot, there's a stinking bus that goes to Gala, then you have to fend for yourself. Good luck if you've got lots of stuff to carry!
Guard's van? Not on the local First Capital Connect or National Express trains there isn't. And try taking a full-sized bike into London by train in rush hour.
When I bought my car I was living near Biggin Hill (Kent). The car was in Glasgow. I flew there. It was cheaper and quicker than the train. I drove back. Quicker than the train and infinitely more convenient.
Sorry but IMO trains suck.
So the trains suck because you left your car at the opposite end of the country, and because they don't serve your house in the middle of nowhere?
Correct, they suck because I bought my car from the opposite end of the country and the train does not go to my house in the middle of nowhere. That is the very essence of why public transport sucks, it is not convenient. Cars are convenient.
Plus in my car I do not have children running around screaming and I do not have to listen to tsk tsk tsk from someone's mp3. Gotta go, got some work to do.
You could do it on the train 🙂
They'll never be as convenient as a car, but if you gave me a choie of driving Edinburgh to London or getting the train, I know which I'd choose! The fact you're not there just means it's one less person to share the train with!
Not sure that the figures stack up.
Assume 300 miles from Bristol to Newcastle, 600 miles for a return trip. The current cost per mile for a car is around 40p a mile (includes fuel, oil, wear and tear, etc) so which works out at £240 for the journey, not £120 - which I assume is for the fuel only.
Therefore the cost of the rail travel does not seem to be much different, and in some cases cheaper. The main problem is that most people ignore any other cost except for fuel.
We are not very good at working out real costs, mainly because we don't like the answers. We do this all the time where the car is involved. If we applied the same cost-benefit analysis to road building that we do for rail investment we would stop all road building now. And we would be spending a fortune in improving the safety aspects of roads!
When I drove an old car worth at best 2K, I'd be extremely in credit if I put aside the money you project for wear and tear, oil etc for when it actually needed some work.
Now I drive a new car, it's depreciating whether or not I drive it, and still needs servicing to time, as well as mileage schedules, so I don't save there. In fact, the most logical thing to do with it, seeing as I bought it for this purpose, is to drive it...