Off Peak Day Reurn Increases by 40%

[northwichcat]

Even the cheapest Knutsford to Chester fare that you say has decreased is £10.70 return - it would cost on average between £10-11 in fuel for that 60 mile round trip - so why would you take the slower, much much less comfortable train if you had the choice?

The road signs make it around 25 miles from the roundabout in Knutsford to Chester via the A556. (A signpost on the roundabout says Northwich 7 but just after you join the A556 the signposts say Northwich 5 and Chester 23.)

Rail is too expensive and deeply uncompetitive in most of these areas. Greater Manchester was an exception, but isn't going to be much longer. I said that when this policy was announced though and you are already aware of my views on competitiveness of trains against nonsense like the Oxford Road bus corridor and people driving their cars into Manchester city centre.

If the idea is to make rail travel in to the cities attractive then the low fares should end where the commuter belt for the city ends i.e. Buxton, Northwich, Crewe etc. for Manchester rather than Middlewood, Hale, Cheadle Hulme etc. And why do fares from Hale to Smithy Bridge or Glossop to Hazel Grove need to be so low? They could be increased to subside the cuts to commuter belt fares outside the PTE areas.

 

[northwichcat]

That's not to say Knutsford has a "good" rail service, but I can see why other routes to Chester with more modern rolling stock, such as Crewe, are very popular despite the fares being, in my opinion, slightly overpriced.

The biggest problem with the service from Altrincham/Knutsford/Northwich to Chester is if you have to start at 9 or finish at 5 then the times of the hourly train service are not good. (08:48 arrival is too late for a 9am start given the location of the station and today it arrived less than 2 minutes before 9am so even if you worked across the road from the station it would be doubtful whether you could rely on it to get you to work before 9.)