This is pretty much where I'm at with the state of the railways. It could be so much more useful and accessible but we choose as a country to both price large numbers of people out *and* pay large amounts of subsidy through our taxes. The worst of both worlds. And people on here seem to want to keep it that way or even put fares up even more(!), or say that people shouldn't even be travelling at all unless it's "essential travel" (god I hate that phrase and hope it dies forever). I just don't get what people think the railway is supposed to be for when they put forward these arguments.
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Post Covid Passenger Rebound
- Thread starter modernrail
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This is pretty much where I'm at with the state of the railways. It could be so much more useful and accessible but we choose as a country to both price large numbers of people out *and* pay large amounts of subsidy through our taxes. The worst of both worlds. And people on here seem to want to keep it that way or even put fares up even more(!), or say that people shouldn't even be travelling at all unless it's "essential travel" (god I hate that phrase and hope it dies forever). I just don't get what people think the railway is supposed to be for when they put forward these arguments.
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R
RailUK Forums
Indeed. The network is hugely subsidised and yet the Treasury decides that it remains the best way to manage things to charge extortionate fares on "peak" (i.e. largely empty) long distance services to London, in the vain hope that this will maximise revenue from largely inexistent business travellers.
All the while, the social and economic potential value of having fast services into London at peak times is laid to complete waste. It's an utter travesty in so many ways.
dk1
Veteran Member
Things are returning. A neighbour/commuter friend of mine who’s not travelled for a good while is back regularly & his company is rapidly recruiting. He’s also onboard up to 4 times a week & has reverted back to anytime flexible tickets instead of compromising.
modernrail
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dk1
Veteran Member
Oh of course it’s down by a very large margin but it ain’t that bad. Good to hear companies being frivolous again rather than watching their spend. Even with this being half term there’s been some very healthy car parking at several stations by 08:30 in the last week too.
modernrail
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Why on earth people on here harbour the illusion it is good to base access to the railways for half the available day on the basis of whether companies are feeling frivolous is beyond me.
You sometimes get the feeling on here that people think it is only fair that big companies subsidise our National train set by paying silly fares. It is a really odd world view. For one it forgets about the locking out effect on the many, many SMEs that would love to increase their ability to access markets using sustainable transport. That a lot of very hard working British enterprise having modal choices taken away from them.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
Yesterday my LNER train was well loaded as was the EMT into London.
During the week my LNWR trains at the old world peak times were quite quiet. The peak hour northern out of leeds was rammed like the old days.
Strange world right now
During the week my LNWR trains at the old world peak times were quite quiet. The peak hour northern out of leeds was rammed like the old days.
Strange world right now
Robertj21a
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Often difficult to realise that London isn't at all representative of the rest of the country. Many problems there are/were caused by the massive peaks and quite a few problems could be solved by cutting out trains that do few trips. It needs a more even spread.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
To be fair it is the Easter holidays. Even before COVID London commuting was always well down for those two weeks.
andystock22
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There now seems to be a difference between commuting numbers to and from London and the rest of the UK. Just look at the DfT Covid travel stats for the tube in London and its only at 59% to 67% on weekdays now.
I live in North London and I don't know a single person that has returned to the office 5 days per week. Everyone seems to be working hybrid now, 2 or 3 days a week in the office. TfL contactless pay as you go is really useful for this working pattern.
I live in North London and I don't know a single person that has returned to the office 5 days per week. Everyone seems to be working hybrid now, 2 or 3 days a week in the office. TfL contactless pay as you go is really useful for this working pattern.
modernrail
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Half-price train ticket sale as prices criticised
The temporary sale will see some off-peak prices slashed by as much as half in April and May.
www.bbc.co.uk
Good old DfT, completely missing the target and slicing their well recovered off peak revenue in half.
Half-price train ticket sale as prices criticised
The temporary sale will see some off-peak prices slashed by as much as half in April and May.
Good old DfT, completely missing the target and slicing their well recovered off peak revenue in half.
Yes, on the face of it that does seem pretty short sighted. At least they aren’t applying it during half term and the jubilee weekend which would be madness given how busy the railway has been over Easter (at least the bits of it I’ve been on).
I haven't been able to get an advance purchase (GA Business Return - renamed to something else now basically specific train up, any train down, very useful) into London during the peak the past few weeks. Pre-covid they were generally available up to a few days before travel. Trains have seemed well-loaded although the reduced timetable may have been partially responsible.
And the Diss to Cuffley not via London ticket is no longer available (someone obviously spotted it, bugger) so I find myself buying extortionately priced any time returns.
Isn't this just the DFT behaving like a private sector enterprise ?Half-price train ticket sale as prices criticised
The temporary sale will see some off-peak prices slashed by as much as half in April and May.
Good old DfT, completely missing the target and slicing their well recovered off peak revenue in half.
It's good that they're taking some action to get bums on seats.
There does need to be something done longer term about those middle distance fares, between long distance where AP is usual and the area of the cheap day return. I've a feeling that a lot of this type of travel is put off due to the high price.
There does need to be something done longer term about those middle distance fares, between long distance where AP is usual and the area of the cheap day return. I've a feeling that a lot of this type of travel is put off due to the high price.
The Planner
Veteran Member
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So the offer period is exactly between when the kids go back after Easter and ends right before they break up for May half term?
Privatise the whole lot and unleash market forces!!
I don’t think it’s the idea of having a sale that’s being questioned, just whether they might be discounting tickets they would have sold at full price anyway. That would somewhat defeat the object!
*Hopefully* they’ve crunched the numbers and reckon it will lead to a net gain. I’d have more faith in this if the DfT were indeed a private sector organisation!
Annetts key
Established Member
Counter argument, make all public transport in this country free at the point of use.
(Of course there is absolutely no chance of this, so don’t take this as a serious suggestion)
I take it the “eight in twenty eight” peak tickets aren’t any good for you?
I am on the Airedale line.
Safe to say it is absolutely nowhere near what it was pre-Covid and I think behind many other routes which is one of the reasons why the Wharfedale line is being cut to the bone next month.
It will only really come back if employers make the decision they want people in the office full time - Certainly where I am there is very little interest in returning to the old model and frankly who can blame people? If you have a comfortable work environment and active private life (ensuring human interaction) then you can live without long commutes , lack of sleep and a massive hit to your monthly pay for the privilege of going to work. I am going in more but that is purely for wellbeing reasons to escape these four walls.
Also agree the days of business travel for us are gone except in the most exceptional of circumstances - it is just impossible to defend the cost / time of that given the alternatives available.
No, my need to travel to London is erratic and tends to come in fits and starts with little notice.
Yes, it will be a resounding success like bus deregulation. Oh......
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Yet the funny thing is, the Hallam stopper in the same city appears back to normal.
Been a resounding success in the airline industry.
The airline industry is not the rail industry.
AKA, close most of the railways? Because that's what that would mean.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Well, quite. You could fully privatise ECML and WCML long distance services (though it'd result in some cuts), but I doubt you could turn a profit on much else.
From my experiences the Tyne Valley line during the commute, like others, is deathly quiet still even since the local bus company axed it's express service from Hexham to Newcastle, very little upturn.
I'm doing 1 (sometimes 2) days a week in the office and that's a similar story for most peers and friends - there's just no sense cramming onto a Northern sprinter to sit at a desk in Newcastle for 5 days a week anymore nor is spending £60 on one of Northerns flexi season tickets when the A69 is clear most days.
On the flipside, the weekend is extremely busy and the 4-5pm weekday trains out of Hexham seem much much busier as people return from day trips or a walk along the wall.
There is an odd archaic attitude to WFH on this forum as if folk are sitting there watching netflix and baking cakes and one can only be productive touching flesh, networking and above all commuting
I'm doing 1 (sometimes 2) days a week in the office and that's a similar story for most peers and friends - there's just no sense cramming onto a Northern sprinter to sit at a desk in Newcastle for 5 days a week anymore nor is spending £60 on one of Northerns flexi season tickets when the A69 is clear most days.
On the flipside, the weekend is extremely busy and the 4-5pm weekday trains out of Hexham seem much much busier as people return from day trips or a walk along the wall.
There is an odd archaic attitude to WFH on this forum as if folk are sitting there watching netflix and baking cakes and one can only be productive touching flesh, networking and above all commuting
Phil56
Member
Because there is proper competition in the airline industry, i.e. multiple airlines doing the same routes, airlines free to negotiate different routes/airports, airlines free to lease their own choice of plane, privately owned airports free to do their own "deals" with airlines, etc. Completely different to the faux/pretend privatisation of the railways where the state quangos still control virtually everything.
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