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Soooo
Have been looking at ways of getting myself and my wife up to Newcastle to see my parents on 21st April – so this is over 3 and a half months away!!!
To drive will take 5 hours (ok so i'm assuming no traffic) and cost around £120
To fly, even with all the credit card charges, environmental charges, etc will take about 4 hours (getting to airport, check in, flying time, getting to my parents house at the other end) and cost £140!!
The bus (an effing bus) will take our entire lives(well 11 hours - and again that's assuming no traffic) and it costs 180 freaking quid!! – are you kidding me, we get to sit in a tin can, that i'm not in charge of, with eff all leg room and do exactly the same efffing journey as we would in the car and we have to pay an extra £60 for that joy.
That’s not the best bit……………the train…the F^^king train, not only does it not let you book more than 2 months ahead, so giving myself the longest time to book the tickets (planning well in advance) but it takes 8 hours! 8 hours how the hell does something that supposedly travels at 200mph take 8 hours? and how much do i have to pay for the pleasure of taking twice as long as a car?
£211!!!!!!
And the government is trying to get us out of cars! – who the hell are they kidding?!
Bah – rant over!
small print - (all prices based on two people sharing and are total not per person - still it's blimming expensive)
iirc correctly the cheaper advance and super advance tickets (ironically) don't get released until nearer the date.
Where are you?
radtothepowerofsik - Member
Where are you?
you can work it out based on the info in the post. or click his name...
to be fair i do live just out side of Bristol going to just outside of Newcastle - so pretty much opposite ends of the country
ha ha just seen how that may have come out - i'd be ridiculous for a short journey
Where are you +1
try megabus.com
they are usually cheap if you book early (fares start at £1 single!)
not as quick as the car like, but cheap.
re your point about the prices car vs the rest, i agree, when you add everything up on a long journey, nothing comes close to a car.
(convenience/time/price/comfort).
I think the max speed of any train is 125mph except EuroStar/HS1 line.
The cheapest advance rail tickets are available 12 weeks before the journey. So wait 2/3 weeks then check the train again.
I can't promise it will make you smile though
😉
Bristol to Newcastle 4hours 22mins.
Cost about £134 off-peak return.
something that supposedly travels at 200mph
Ummmm.. isn't that the bullet trains in Japan that do that? I think the trains here do about 80mph max.
Although have you factored in the cost of learning to drive, buying a car, insurance, tax, parking, depreciation on the car, etc. etc.
Although I do agree with you about trains, they suck and I hate them.
edit: just seen
I think the max speed of any train is 125mph except EuroStar/HS1 line.
Maybe he's right.
re your point about the prices car vs the rest, i agree, when you add everything up on a long journey, nothing comes close to a car.
(convenience/time/price/comfort).
TJ will be along in a second to point out you haven't factored depreciation, capital outlay and the impact on children's faces into your calculation and that public transport is far cheaper
Is the bus public transport?
Public transport costs are bonkers unless you're making certain specific journeys.
I.e. it seems that unless your train journey involves travelling to London from either Manchester, Liverpool or Birmingham, then it's going to cost a million pounds.
I got a return Stockport-London over the new year for £45, which incl. 1st class for the return leg.
And the government is trying to get us out of cars! – who the hell are they kidding?!
They're not really though are they, they're just paying lip service to it to keep the ecomentalists happy
[i]to be fair i do live just out side of Bristol going to just outside of Newcastle - so pretty much opposite ends of the country[/i]
Spot the man that never travels...
tbh Having done that kinda return trip in a day I wouldn't even be thinking about it, never mind planning something like that over 3 months in advance...
you'll be pleasantly surprised at the public transport infrastructure in newcastle once you arrive
Although have you factored in the cost of learning to drive, buying a car, insurance, tax,
As he's considering driving, I assume he's already spent money on these things...
I think the max speed of any train is 125mph except EuroStar/HS1 line.
He's right, fastest domestic trains are the SouthEastern High Speed services on HS1 which are 140mph, Eurostars are up to 186mph. On the southern/south western nowt above 100, great western, east coast, midland and west cost main lines are 125.
Not really sure what you're on about frankly.
[url= http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timesandfares/BRI/NCL/290312/1015/dep ]5 hours on the nose, no changes, £36.50, for the 29th March[/url], which is a weekday, weekend will be cheaper. Subsidised first class upgrade, sit there, enjoy free drink, watch the world go by. Very pleasant.
Although have you factored in the cost of learning to drive, buying a car, insurance, tax, parking, depreciation on the car, etc. etc
These things would only be a consideration if the OP was buying a car specifically for this journey ... ?
There's no additional insurance, tax, learning to drive or purchase costs just for this specific journey
I've walked across town to get to the Train Station before. Looked at the ticket price. Saw the cost. Turned round and walked back home and drove to where I wanted to go as it was so much cheaper!
For the price of some train tickets it would be cheaper to buy a 2nd hand car and drive there!
This is going to descend into the usual arguments.
Basically, the OP did very little research and followed the usual 'country's going to the dogs' Daily Wail line.
it would be cheaper to buy a 2nd hand car
Just steal one - cheaper still.
If you go for a car-jacking and stab the previous owner you can nick their wallet too, and they can fund the petrol. Win win.
what's wrong with the daily mail.....i blame the imigants 😉
yes i do have a car so have already factored in cost, depreciation, etc but that is spread out over the lifetime of the car not just a particular journey, and as the car is a second hand polo, its already depreciated, it's only a 1.4 so tax isn't bad. it's just such a long way up the M6 and i can't be bothered to drive, so thought transport would be cheaper more convenint alternative
plus i felt like a good rant
so thought transport would be cheaper more convenint alternative
Which it almost certainly is 🙄
NJEE beat me to it, but yeah you can both get there and back for £166 mid March (latest released cheap tickets)
£166.00
Saving £102.20Price for 2 Adult and 0 Child
Out: 10:30 19 Mar 2012
Bristol Temple Meads (BRI) to Newcastle (NCL)
0 change(s)
Specified train only. No refunds.
This ticket is only valid on CrossCountry services.
Return: 09:41 23 Mar 2012
Newcastle (NCL) to Bristol Temple Meads (BRI)
0 change(s)
Bang on 5 hours each way
And again that's a weekday, so it'll probably be cheaper at the weekend.
I need to leave on a friday night and come back Sunday at somepoint
£166 is still more expensive than 2 tanks of petrol though
£46 would pay for a night out in the Toon 🙂
5 hours each way is a good alternative though
£166 is still more expensive than 2 tanks of petrol today though
FTFY, god knows about April!
take a bike. it'll be (almost) free
Subsidised first class upgrade
Or the Elfinsafety Free 1st Class Upgrade:
Wait until the inspector has seen yer ticket, which usually happens not long after take-off, then simply go and sit in 1st Class. Unless it stops along the way, you won't have to move. And if it does stop, and the inspector comes round again, simply move to the bit between carriages, pretend you're making a 'phone call, then when he/she's gone go and sit back down again.
Then sit, relax and bask in the smugness that all the other mugs sitting there thinking themselves so superior for being able to afford 1st Class are actually paying several times what you are, for no extra benefit. 😀
I would almost always take the train if I could. It's far more comfortable, you can do other things, or just sleep. The chances of it getting delayed are less, it's generally quicker, and you arrive fresh.
According to my research you are looking at 5 hours journey time, so I don't know how you work out 8. Factor in getting stuck in traffic, stopping for coffees etc into your driving time.
The only downside, for me, is the price and having to chase those cheap tickets. If 'normal' tickets didn't cost the earth is would just be brilliant.
Then sit, relax and bask in the smugness that all the other mugs sitting there thinking themselves so superior for being able to afford 1st Class are actually paying several times what you are, for no extra benefit.
Unless they had the foresight to check online to see if the first class tickets were actually cheaper (as they sometimes are between Leeds and London as I have found out) and can sit and relax, smug in the knowledge they actually got cheaper tickets than the plebs in cattle class, and not be getting up and down like a tarts kickers every time a guard walks by.
😉
😆
I have never ever seen 1st Class tickets cheaper than Scum Class myself though.
To be fair, I went to NREs, searched the two stations, chose an arbitrary future date, and the top one was the fare I posted. 90 seconds from reading the post to having the link for the OP. Saved him 3 hours just like that!
Then sit, relax and bask in the smugness that all the other mugs sitting there thinking themselves so superior for being able to afford 1st Class are actually paying several times what you are, for no extra benefit.
You can't really though can you, because if you get caught you'll get turfed out, at best! I'd rather just sit in standard and chill out.
From birth until I left Uni I had unlimited free first class rail travel anywhere in the UK, no tickets, just hopped on as I pleased. That made me feel smug. Wish I'd made more of it really!
I have never ever seen 1st Class tickets cheaper than Scum Class myself though.
Yeah it happens, fairly rare though. Stockport to London is often cheaper in first for some reason!
Yeah they are sometimes on the route I take (Leeds or York to Kings Cross). Sometimes they are so little more (just a few £££s) that I get them.
You can't really though can you, because if you get caught you'll get turfed out, at best! I'd rather just sit in standard and chill out.
If it's somewhere like London to Birmingham, the inspector will only be round once.
You get free papers and pots of tea/coffee in first class don't cha?
So you could get the same thing by thieving some papers from a news stand, then ordering some coffee in the cafe and running out without paying for it.
Or is [i]that[/i] kind of stealing wrong? 😉
Perth-London, return, 2 adults, £80. Booked in Dec for travel in March.
Elfinsafety Free 1st Class Upgrade:
Then, when the inspector does turn up, you can start swearing loudly until some big bloke chucks you off the train, hopefully with the entire event captured on mobile phone. TJ will present the case for the defence m'lud.
Puplic Transport is indeed a joke of the 19th Centuary, panned out into the 21st Centuary.
And we love it.
Then, when the inspector does turn up, you can start swearing loudly until some big bloke chucks you off the train
What big bloke?
Big man tried anything like that with me, I'd throw [i]him[/i] off the train.
[img] 
[/img]
I used to do Bristol to Newcastle on a regular basis. The easiest, most reliable and often cheapest was an Easyjet flight.
I drove once (Bridgwater/Newcastle) and it took about 8 hours so 6-7 from Bristol. I took the train once but it wasn't actually possible to make the full journey on a Friday night leaving work at 4.
You don't need to leave that long to check in at either end. My GF flies out of Newcastle on a regular basis and 30minutes before check in is doable with online check in and hand luggage. Same in Bristol, was late once and you can do it in 10 minutes but not to be recommended.
You get free papers and pots of tea/coffee in first class don't cha?
Depends, down here you get a seat that looks a little less like it's been inhabited by an unwashed hobo, an antimacassar and nowt else!
1st class on cross country is shite.
Eastcoast and Virgin provide free food and booze.
Scotrail is probably the worst premium service though.
HTH
The name of it should be changed. "Public Transport" sounds a bit like it's a service for the good of the public, when actually it is a business, run for (massive) profit; not some altruistic quasi-charitable organisation. Should be called something else....
"Why not choose The Robbing Bast&rd Train Company Limited for your nightmare journey to hell? We promise to charge you more than twice the amount it would cost to go in the comfort and convenience of your car and in return you can be squashed into an uncomfortable seat which will really hurt your back in a boiling hot/freezing cold train while subjected to delays.
By the way, don't even think about bringing your bike (even if you've booked 100 years in advance) because at the last minute we will omit the carriage with the bike spaces."
Not a fan 🙂
I could do bristol to newcastle return on one tank of diesel (about £65) to be honest, but that's not factoring in wear and tear and fixed costs of course.
Nor stress and likely delays.
The train is rarely practical for a variety of reasons, and even less often is it cheaper, but if it's close and a long journey I'd far rather be on the train myself! You've not got to worry about things like parking and rush hour traffic either.
"Why not choose The Robbing Bast&rd Train Company Limited for your nightmare journey to hell? We promise to charge you more than twice the amount it would cost to go in the comfort and convenience of your car and in return you can be squashed into an uncomfortable seat which will really hurt your back in a boiling hot/freezing cold train while subjected to delays.By the way, don't even think about bringing your bike (even if you've booked 100 years in advance) because at the last minute we will omit the carriage with the bike spaces."
wow, really? see my last post, two of us, central scotland-london, £40 each, return. Do that in a car for that price? In 6 hours to Kng's X?
Bikes? easy, easy. Although once at Thurso (when i hadn't booked), I was told there were too many bikes on the train, so they were going in a van to be collected at Inverness. Which they were.
fancied doing glasgow-Edinburgh on canal towpaths. Train ticket, return to Glasgow, train Dundee-Glasgow, cycled to Edinburgh, then used the return to get back to Dundee. Bike went in guards van, stowed by me.
It's not the easiest journey, it could be cheaper to fly from Bristol* to Newcastle. The trains are great for going up and down the country but since Beeching are pretty rubbish for going across.
*Bear in mind that Bristol airport is on the site of the base that the RAF built to teach pilots how to fly in fog, and is in the middle of nowhere. Filton would have been more sensible but some halfwit gave planning permission for houses at the end of the runway (local politics eh..).
I think the best way I can describe train pricing is by using the word "odd".
Sometimes it is very cheap - £2 return to Brum after 5pm from my local station.
Sometimes it is astronomical - £200 return to London on a weekday if I want to get there in time to start work.
Frankly, it needs some central management to get things in order, be that private or public sector.
I think if you book in advance and travel off peak you can probably get a good deal. However, to go on the spur of the moment, exactly from your door to exactly where you are going, at any time of day or night, with bikes, dog, lots of luggage, the car wins every single time.
I can remember working in London and staying just outside Galashiels. Going back on a Friday evening after work was a total nightmare, no seats (train companies are allowed to sell you a ticket but not compelled to guarantee there will be a seat, or room to stand or even a train). It was expensive and horrible and what are you supposed to do when you get to Edinburgh? Public transport to a village outside Galashiels? Really? Oh yes, I forgot, there's a stinking bus that goes to Gala, then you have to fend for yourself. Good luck if you've got lots of stuff to carry!
Guard's van? Not on the local First Capital Connect or National Express trains there isn't. And try taking a full-sized bike into London by train in rush hour.
When I bought my car I was living near Biggin Hill (Kent). The car was in Glasgow. I flew there. It was cheaper and quicker than the train. I drove back. Quicker than the train and infinitely more convenient.
Sorry but IMO trains suck.
So the trains suck because you left your car at the opposite end of the country, and because they don't serve your house in the middle of nowhere?
Correct, they suck because I bought my car from the opposite end of the country and the train does not go to my house in the middle of nowhere. That is the very essence of why public transport sucks, it is not convenient. Cars are convenient.
Plus in my car I do not have children running around screaming and I do not have to listen to tsk tsk tsk from someone's mp3. Gotta go, got some work to do.
You could do it on the train 🙂
They'll never be as convenient as a car, but if you gave me a choie of driving Edinburgh to London or getting the train, I know which I'd choose! The fact you're not there just means it's one less person to share the train with!
Not sure that the figures stack up.
Assume 300 miles from Bristol to Newcastle, 600 miles for a return trip. The current cost per mile for a car is around 40p a mile (includes fuel, oil, wear and tear, etc) so which works out at £240 for the journey, not £120 - which I assume is for the fuel only.
Therefore the cost of the rail travel does not seem to be much different, and in some cases cheaper. The main problem is that most people ignore any other cost except for fuel.
We are not very good at working out real costs, mainly because we don't like the answers. We do this all the time where the car is involved. If we applied the same cost-benefit analysis to road building that we do for rail investment we would stop all road building now. And we would be spending a fortune in improving the safety aspects of roads!
When I drove an old car worth at best 2K, I'd be extremely in credit if I put aside the money you project for wear and tear, oil etc for when it actually needed some work.
Now I drive a new car, it's depreciating whether or not I drive it, and still needs servicing to time, as well as mileage schedules, so I don't save there. In fact, the most logical thing to do with it, seeing as I bought it for this purpose, is to drive it...