Birmingham [BHM] - Newcastle [NCL] (Outrageous pricing)

[ayrshire_voyager]

Need to get my bro to Newcastle from Birmingham on the 17th of March to arrive at 10:30 am, £89 for a single...........

 

[dstrat]

Yeah its ridiculous but its ok by our government because somebody is making a fast buck out of it somewhere.

 

[Dewedin]

Expressing my view about a complete rip off £89 single , horrendous

You have the double-whammy of it being CrossCountry and also travelling at peak.

Right now I'm doing Wakefield to Edinburgh on East Coast only for 8 quid.

 

[chuckles1066]

Yeah its ridiculous but its ok by our government because somebody is making a fast buck out of it somewhere.

Cheapest return flight is £136 so maybe £89 isn't that outrageous?

 

[466.networkers]

Need to get my bro to Newcastle from Birmingham on the 17th of March to arrive at 10:30 am, £89 for a single...........

I know it makes not a lot of difference but NRES is saying £85 ADV single ...

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I know it makes not a lot of difference but NRES is saying £85 ADV single ...

As did East Coast's booking engine

 

[yorkie]

Need to get my bro to Newcastle from Birmingham on the 17th of March to arrive at 10:30 am, £89 for a single...........

If this is a report about how expensive you found the railway to be, I'll move it to the stories, reports & nostalgia section?

Or is it a request to ask for a combination of tickets that will reduce the cost? So far there is no sign that it is such a request.

 

[ayrshire_voyager]

If this is a report about how expensive you found the railway to be, I'll move it to the stories, reports & nostalgia section?

Or is it a request to ask for a combination of tickets that will reduce the cost? So far there is no sign that it is such a request.

My apologies,reasonably new on here, indeed a request to ask for a combination of tickets that will reduce the cost would help

 

[Lampshade]

My first thought would be split at Manchester Piccadilly and use AP tickets on TPE, it'd get the price down to £45 (£31 + £14), however, upon arrival there are no trains from Manchester that would get you to Newcastle for 10:30, even though the Birmingham - Manchester train is the first train of the day.

 

[nedchester]

You have the double-whammy of it being CrossCountry and also travelling at peak.

.

And it's not as if AXC offer some kind of quality product is it. £89 single is a disgrace!

 

[dstrat]

Cheapest return flight is £136 so maybe £89 isn't that outrageous?

Domestic flights have never been priced to be competitive with anything, the prices have always been to only complement the privileged. Whereas the railways can be said to be moreso for the benefit of all. For prices of £90 from Newcastle to Birmingham..thats a massive proportion of the population being priced out of rail travel.

Unbelievable how XC have got away with it for so long.

 

[Lampshade]

You can go Birmingham New Street - Carlisle for £33 then just use Northern from there (£13.60 SDS).

 

[ayrshire_voyager]

You can go Birmingham New Street - Carlisle for £33 then just use Northern from there (£13.60 SDS).

Yip just say that in fact he has got a return for £90 ish so its a good un, any reason why X ctry is so overpriced ?

 

[Mojo]

Yip just say that in fact he has got a return for £90 ish so its a good un, any reason why X ctry is so overpriced ?

Because at the times you are looking to travel, they can easily fill their trains with people paying high prices and therefore don't need to offer bargain basement fares. If you look for the same day on a train arriving after 13.30 (ie. when it won't be as busy) you'll see some single fares for £23.50.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

As did East Coast's booking engine

Yes but that is an Advance ticket. If you were desperate to do this journey I wouldn't ever buy myself or advise others to buy a non-refundable Advance ticket for £4 less than they can pay for an Anytime turn up and buy on the day single.

 

[DJ737]

G'day there

0522 Birmingham NS - 0610 Leicester 14.30 Anytime Day Single
0611 Leicester - 0707 Peterborough 23.00 Anytime Day Single
0751 Peterborough - 0959 Newcastle 10.70 Advance Single

Total 48.00
Don't worry about the connection at Leicester, It's the same train.
One ticket from Birmingham to Peterborough is 43.00, so 2 tickets are a better option. :roll:

Cheers
DJ737
Melbourne, Australia

 

[Old Timer]

And it's not as if AXC offer some kind of quality product is it. £89 single is a disgrace!

National Express coaches cost £45.10 and taking 5 to 8 hours.

Car based on AA prices and distance of 208 miles = £0.4332 x 208 = £90.11

Car based on Inland Revenue figures = £83.20

So tell us what YOU think the cost of the rail ticket should be ?

 

[Lampshade]

Yip just say that in fact he has got a return for £90 ish so its a good un, any reason why X ctry is so overpriced ?

As a general rule, it is cheaper to split the journey than buy a through ticket if it's priced by CrossCountry. It's so expensive because of how much they're paying for the franchise, their trains are full but still not making a profit so the answer? Fleece the passengers for all they're worth

 

[swt_passenger]

G'day there

0522 Birmingham NS - 0610 Leicester 14.30 Anytime Day Single
0611 Leicester - 0707 Peterborough 23.00 Anytime Day Single
0751 Peterborough - 0959 Newcastle 10.70 Advance Single

Total 48.00
Don't worry about the connection at Leicester, It's the same train.
One ticket from Birmingham to Peterborough is 43.00, so 2 tickets are a better option. :roll:

Cheers
DJ737
Melbourne, Australia

Presumably it's because you are on the other side of the world that you are planning the journey in the wrong direction?

 

[Mojo]

Presumably it's because you are on the other side of the world that you are planning the journey in the wrong direction?

I initially made the same mistake because of the poor-wording in the OP, but if you do actually look he does want to go from Birmingham to Newcastle.

 

[nedchester]

National Express coaches cost £45.10 and taking 5 to 8 hours.

Car based on AA prices and distance of 208 miles = £0.4332 x 208 = £90.11

Car based on Inland Revenue figures = £83.20

So tell us what YOU think the cost of the rail ticket should be ?

208 miles is about half a tank of petrol in my car = £30. I would say £50 with AXC and my car is more comfortable than a AXC Voyager!

You do seem to think the railway offers a 'value for money' product. I beg to differ.

 

[swt_passenger]

I initially made the same mistake because of the poor-wording in the OP, but if you do actually look he does want to go from Birmingham to Newcastle.

Oh yes - I must have been confused by the chap ^^ who chipped in with a Newcastle to Birmingham flight as well.
Many apologies to our Australian correpondent then.

 

[Failed Unit]

As a general rule, it is cheaper to split the journey than buy a through ticket if it's priced by CrossCountry. It's so expensive because of how much they're paying for the franchise, their trains are full but still not making a profit so the answer? Fleece the passengers for all they're worth

As discussed in other threads maybe it is time to concentrate on the core and stop carting fresh air around between Edinburgh and Leeds for example.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

208 miles is about half a tank of petrol in my car = £30. I would say £50 with AXC and my car is more comfortable than a AXC Voyager!

You do seem to think the railway offers a 'value for money' product. I beg to differ.

So you won't wear your tyres? You haven't got 208 miles to your next service? If you break down will the journey cost you £200 ?

 

[90019]

So you won't wear your tyres? You haven't got 208 miles to your next service? If you break down will the journey cost you £200 ?

The tyre wear for a journey like that is likely to be fairly minor, and would probably equate to pennies overall. Extra distance to the service depends whether it's done by milage or time, but again, the relative cost is likely to be very small.
Fuel is the main cost incurred that is actually comparable, as it makes up the majority of the overall cost of the journey. Other costs such as VED, the price of the car, would be paid regardless of whether the car is used or not, so are irrelevant.

 

[Old Timer]

208 miles is about half a tank of petrol in my car = £30. I would say £50 with AXC and my car is more comfortable than a AXC Voyager!

You do seem to think the railway offers a 'value for money' product. I beg to differ.

So you feel that £5 more than the coach is adequate then ? Given the fact that the journey times are so vastly different, that you have a much different travelling environment, that you have access to a buffet, and quite possible a seat with a table. ?

You feel that the price, despite being very clearly comparative to the true costs of running a car per mile (derived from AA figures, which last time I heard were accepted certainly nationally as being representative by everyone else) does not offer value for money, a phrase incidentally which I did not use. ?

Value for money is a meaningless phrase in reality, as we will all have our own personal viewpoint on what constitutes value for money.

The tyre wear for a journey like that is likely to be fairly minor, and would probably equate to pennies overall. Extra distance to the service depends whether it's done by milage or time, but again, the relative cost is likely to be very small.
Fuel is the main cost incurred that is actually comparable, as it makes up the majority of the overall cost of the journey. Other costs such as VED, the price of the car, would be paid regardless of whether the car is used or not, so are irrelevant.

As pointed out above there are many and varied "hidden costs" associated with running a car. The AA is regarded as the leading body for producing what are accepted throughout the Country as being the most representative costs of running a car.

It is against these figures that train fares should be compared not against what someone thinks it will cost based on how much their petrol tank holds.

 

[Max]

Think I may be on to something:

0613 Newcastle - Leeds 0804 (TPE)
£10.50 Advance

0811 Leeds - Birmingham 1007 (XC)
£9.20 Anytime Day Leeds-Sheffield
£23.00 Anytime Doncaster-Burton on Trent (cheaper than Sheffield!)
£10.10 Off-Peak Day Burton on Trent-Birmingham

Gives a total of £52.80, a decent saving.

 

[Failed Unit]

So you feel that £5 more than the coach is adequate then ? Given the fact that the journey times are so vastly different, that you have a much different travelling environment, that you have access to a buffet, and quite possible a seat with a table. ?

You feel that the price, despite being very clearly comparative to the true costs of running a car per mile (derived from AA figures, which last time I heard were accepted certainly nationally as being representative by everyone else) does not offer value for money, a phrase incidentally which I did not use. ?

Value for money is a meaningless phrase in reality, as we will all have our own personal viewpoint on what constitutes value for money.

The pendent in me would say there is no buffet on XC but it is nice to read a paper. Eat breakfast (even if you packed it yourself).

The one thing in the OPs post about £30 fuel how was the car getting back?

But I certainly agree wholeheartedly with you post. People always only look at the fuel when planning a journey as the other costs are paid for if the car was stood doing nothing. But when you get lower premiums when you drive less for example how can this be true?

I suppose what it does demostatecis tax on fuel if fair if driving is still so cheap (ducks)

 

[Max]

Think I may be on to something:

0613 Newcastle - Leeds 0804 (TPE)
£10.50 Advance

0811 Leeds - Birmingham 1007 (XC)
£9.20 Anytime Day Leeds-Sheffield
£23.00 Anytime Doncaster-Burton on Trent (cheaper than Sheffield!)
£10.10 Off-Peak Day Burton on Trent-Birmingham

Gives a total of £52.80, a decent saving.

In fact, if you book on the TPE website for the advance single you can save another £2.50 with the January sale.

 

[tony_mac]

Think I may be on to something:
0613 Newcastle - Leeds 0804 (TPE)

There is some confusion, but he said he wanted a ticket to Newcastle.

 

[Max]

There is some confusion, but he said he wanted a ticket to Newcastle.

Damn, wasted research!

Although looking at AP prices between Doncaster and Newcastle (some trains currently £6.50), a similar split at Burton on Trent and Doncaster may save the OP some money, so perhaps all is not lost.

 

[Old Timer]

Damn, wasted research!

Although looking at AP prices between Doncaster and Newcastle (some trains currently £6.50), a similar split at Burton on Trent and Doncaster may save the OP some money, so perhaps all is not lost.​

Ahh but surely most XC now go via Leeds
​