Why is rail travel so expensive? My yearly ticket is just under £4,000. What is it that costs so much?

Question

By the way, there is only toilets on my train, no restaurant or coffee or anything like that

Answer 1

work out how much it would be paying for a daily ticket every day for 12 months......a h**l of a lot more than £4000 i bet

Answer 2

Spent on the shareholders champagne.

Answer 3

If I understand the currency exchange, this is equivalent to somewhere near $8,000 US.  The railway execs should be pilloried.

Answer 4

my fiancee travels into london and never gets a seat, the train is always dirty and messy - but pays £5000 pr yr for it

If he didnt work in london and take the train - he would earn less money - so he NEEDS the trains

thats what companies rely on - THE NEED to be used

Answer 5

it costs so much as they have to keep paying a fine because the service is so c**p - they have to get the money somehow.

Answer 6

Because they are ripping as off.

Answer 7

Because they know people will pay that much

Answer 8

It is because you are not only paying the train but also the stupid politics of this n**i [no need to hold a svastika to be one]government!

Nationalisation have been a definitive mode for using the Rail income to subsidize unprofitable activities (not for the British Nomemklatura,it's evidence).

Answer 9

It's because trains aren't just transportation- they're supposed to keep you busy as well. They feed you meals and pass out coffee, just like airplane service... and airplanes cost a heck of a lot more than trains. Buses are a lot cheaper but I don't know how many buslines offer free coffee!! If you want a slightly cheaper option, try a more upscale bus company like Greyhound. But if you're talking in euros I'm not sure you have Greyhound.... but something similar will take you across the country and won't set you back nearly as much as rail travel.

Answer 10

Privatisation ....same as everything else thats so expensive,we get ripped off in England for everything!

Answer 11

Some big fat cat somewhere needs his yearly bonus!

He has to get it from somewhere!!!!

Answer 12

it's the fuel, sis. and also depends on the distance you are travelling

Answer 13

Rail travel has become exhorbitantly expensive since British Rail was privatised, and became lots of independant companies,with hundreds of greedy directors and thousands of investors who are all out to line their pockets at the expense of comuters,service,maintainance and general well-being of the transport system.

Answer 14

cost more by car

Answer 15

depends where you travel from and to, www.megatrain.com is cheapest way to buy tickets starting from £1.I paid £3 for one way from Exeter to London,but have to be flexible about date/time