Historical International Rail Fares

[StephenHunter]

So, I've been looking at some old air timetables as part of my Cold War spy game and some of the prices are a bit eye-watering to put it mildly when you adjust for inflation.

London to (West) Berlin in 1967 on BEA was 45 pounds 11 shillings, which adjusts to around 911 quid today - and that was a tourist class return! 2 and a half hours on a Viscount, FWIW.

How much would you pay for the train journey?

 

[DidcotDickie]

Can't answer your question but Heathrow to Munich return on BA with an APEX ticket (advance purchase, fixed schedule) was £99 in 1978 which works out at over £500 in today's money according to the Bank of England inflation calculator. Took about 1hr 45 on a Trident.

I doubt if rail was much cheaper than APEX air fares at the time. I did a couple of London to Hamburg trips via Harwich-Hook of Holland in the mid 70s but can't recall the fare. Most likely these were on an Interrail pass.

 

[davetheguard]

I've got a couple of Edmondson-type card tickets which I bought from B.R. at London Victoria in 1987. Both are for single journeys.

Both are mainly in French, pre-printed with "PERSONNEL B.R." - in other words, with a 75% reduction on the public rate.

The first is Dieppe Maritime to Paris St. Lazare, shown as 174 km. Fare written in by hand of £2.38.

The second is Paris Nord to Calais Maritime via Amiens. Distance is either 289 or 299 km (hard to read), and the hand-written fare is £3.41.

Obviously, both Maritime stations are now long-closed. As for Edmonson card tickets......

 

[Bletchleyite]

While people mourn the loss of TCV fares, even with BIJ (1/3 off for youth) discount they were still fairly hefty in the 1990s. Splitting it up and using yield managed fares on the likes of Thalys did save even back then.