To think the prices of train tickets are a disgrace

[justfoundout2014]

I live in the East Midlands and thought a trip to London would be nice in half-term, especially since DD has been full of her school topic on the Great Fire of London and Samuel Pepys etc

The cheapest tickets are £150, and those are at times that are far from ideal. I thought maybe I could get a better deal by booking further ahead, but on the sites I've looked at so far, prices are similar for Easter hols now and besides, I really want to go soon while dd's project is fresh in her mind. Sites mention peak and off-peak times, but there seems to be little variation in prices across the whole day.

Coach is a lot cheaper but takes 3 hours - a bit much for a day-trip. I could pay the money, though find it hard to justify that amount for one day, but obviously many would never be able to even consider it.

So privatisation has worked so well, hasn't it? Look at competition bringing those prices down...oh, wait a minute... Seems rail travel is the preserve of the wealthy now, aside from commuters who have no choice but to pay up.

These companies are being subsidised through our taxes - aibu to think they should be forced to do something about their ridiculous prices?

But it's bollocks isn't it? Having to book months in advance, spend hours researching and comparing. It's a train for god's sake, from one British town to another, not a voyage to the Hindu Kush

It's disgusting. If it was cheaper to travel by train then more people would.

Look at driving to Luton Airport Parkway, park there (about £8 all day) then train in but it's still about £12 each return.

I would recommend buying a family rail card. Even if you only use it once or twice, you will definitely end up saving money. They cost around £28 but you get 1/3 off adults tickets and 2/3 off children's tickets. You would probably get your money back on your first trip if it's that expensive.

I wonder if the OP has put in 2 adults and 1 child into the search, then the total ticket price is coming out at £150 for all three of them, rather than £50 ish for each ticket.

I really don't know what you are on about. I have recently booked train tickets from York to London, for easter, return for 3, first class for £116. Not exactly awful timings, Friday at 4 pm to go and Wednesday at 1 pm to come back.
We would have booked standard class, to save even more, it I had budgeted £100 for the car parking in London, ncp for 5 days, so wanted to splash out.
Standard class was £66.

Oh and we have a rail card, there are so many now. Madness not to use one if you use the train.

"So that's under 40 quid if you travel Monday to Friday next week, at pretty convenient times, "

That doesn't really help the OP take her school age child at half term though. There's a limit to how flexible people can be. And, like other types of travel, train prices take a hike during school holidays.

pippistrelle next week is half term here... maybe not in the town where the OP is, but we don't know that, all we know is that any station in the east midlands that we've looked up it's nothing like that price.

I'd love to see this 150quid fare, but of course to do that the OP would need to reveal more about themselves than they might want to do.

I regularly travel from nottingham to London and the full price standard return is £166 but I always buy in advance and usually pay less than £100 and that is for peak time trains. There are much cheaper tickets if you travel off peak - never buy a standard ticket!

justfoundout is it because you are trying to come back on peak? You may need to go back after 7pm or get a slower train - where are you. I live in the Midlands and travel to London quite a bit.

I've just used my Tesco clubcard vouchers (£90 worth , doubled up in to Red Spotted Hanky and used online )
Its £177 for 3 adults from South Wales Port Talbot Parkway to Paddington for a day return
Leaving London at 21-15 to travel home . That was the cheapest fare I could find

Ah, apologies, fredfred.

I've hooked for my parents to go the week after half term from Leeds and got those for £5 each way. There's definitely deals to be found

I totally agree with you. It makes me very angry that we have to pay such a huge amount for relativativy short distances. No wonder people would rather drive.

Where on earth are you looking?? I decided, on a whim, to go to London last Saturday. I decided on Thurs and booked the tickets that evening. A return cost me the grand price of £21. And I live in the East Midlands too!

Try thetrainline.com.

I'm in the West Midlands and with railcard it cost about £45 for me and 3 DC for a day return.

savoy - please read my post megabus also run on trains from certain stations in the east midlands

Not East Midlands but if I book far enough ahead I can get from Wolverhampton to Euston for a fiver each way on certain days. And Edinburgh return for £40. You just have to be organised and book WAY in advance as they only have a handful of the cheaper tickets and when they're gne, the prices rocket.

Oh and I'm going next month to London for £34 return first class both ways.

I find it infuriating that you have a choice of paying ludicrous fares (especially if you need to get on a train before 9.30, regardless of the fact you'll arrive at 4pm) or finding a super cheap ticket so long as you perform a sacrifice to the correct deity while the moon is in the correct position on the third Tuesday three months before you want to travel, so long as you realise that you need to split your journey at a completely random station in the middle.

It's a completely unacceptable system.

It depends on the train company I live in a Virgin train area and regularly have to travel to London for work - I use train line.com and book in advance when I gauge it will be cheapest
Average price I pay is £150 for a day return - cheapest booked as 2 singles in standard class although bizarrely sometimes first class is cheapest - I have to travel in peak times though
I have colleagues in Yorkshire and the North East who travel to same meetings and they pay around a quarter of what I pay! One person travelling from the highlands on night sleeper pays much less than me!!!