Posted 16th Feb 2023
Just a reminder if not already aware, from 5th March 2023 there will be an increase in train fares across rail operators in England, so something to bear in mind if buying rail tickets. The government has capped the increase to 5.9% on rail firms. TFL for example has announced they will increase by an average of 5.9%. Some more info below and also some listed train ticket deals to help save some money.
5.9% cap on rail increases .gov
5.9% average increase TFL - New fares announced
National Rail update on price increases
On 5 March 2023 regulated rail fares will rise on average by 5.9%. Not all fares increase: some fares may go up, many will stay the same and some will reduce in price, in order to meet demand and provide an average.
If looking to save money on train fares here are some deals currently available, thanks to members for the posts
Useful Links / related discussions
5.9% cap on rail increases - government info
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Earning and Redeeming Avios points
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A guide to frequent flyer schemes and how to save money with them
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The Best Loyalty Cards 2022 - Perks, offers, discounts, vouchers and more
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Cost of Living
5.9% cap on rail increases .gov
5.9% average increase TFL - New fares announced
National Rail update on price increases
On 5 March 2023 regulated rail fares will rise on average by 5.9%. Not all fares increase: some fares may go up, many will stay the same and some will reduce in price, in order to meet demand and provide an average.
If looking to save money on train fares here are some deals currently available, thanks to members for the posts
Useful Links / related discussions
5.9% cap on rail increases - government info
Hand luggage rules for Flights 2023 including British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, TUI...
How to find cheap hotels
How to find a cheap family holiday in the UK and abroad
Earning and Redeeming Avios points
Price comparison websites compared: always get the best price
A guide to frequent flyer schemes and how to save money with them
What can you do to help cut costs when buying goods? How do we shop smarter and other information to help
The Best Loyalty Cards 2022 - Perks, offers, discounts, vouchers and more
Holiday Travel Tips 2022 - Hotels / Trains / Holidays + more
Free, cheap and discounted Days Out / things to do for School Holidays and/or Weekends
Cancellation and refund rights for trains / hotels / event tickets
New energy support measures for businesses / Energy bills Help on the way for millions more homes + Discounts, Offers, Grants & more
Cost of Living
Community Updates
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247 Comments
sorted byHard to encourage car owners to use public transport if this is as good as it gets.
The companies are hell bent on reducing the number of staff they employ, even though that will have a knock-on effect on maintenance, customer service and safety and more.
Since the 80s every major industry has been turned into a money funnel to extract the wealth into a limited number of pockets, whilst spending as little as possible on investments and infrastructure.
Utter con all round.
In the last reporting quarter, passenger numbers were still down 20% on pre-Covid, and revenues were down 30%.
If those passenger numbers are eventually coming back, it's sustainable to keep service and staff numbers the same.
If the drop in passengers is permanent, it's not really sustainable to say you've lost 1/5th of demand for your service but the same cost base as before will be maintained (meaning even bigger taxpayer subsidies).
Thanks OP for the post and all the links
Back in early December we had a party in Manchester (not on a strike day) and our people from London set off at 8 in the morning - they were scheduled to arrive after 10 to catch most of the work day for meetings and join the party at 18:00. They arrived at 20:00... Yes, London to Manchester in 12 hours! A funny part is that they split, so some ended up going via Crewe and some via Leeds, but they all arrived at the same time
All this is well known, and yet the government gave them (Avanti) another 6-month extension to their contract with the "promise" to improve services... Really boggles the mind, Virgin was top-rated and from what I see they among the smallest subsidies among all operators. It's like the government is running some sort of weird anti-capitalist ploy - promote the least performing private companies. (edited)
I will never use the trains again. Over priced, unreliable and more stressful than just driving.
Trains are a joke in this country. (edited)
By comparison, my last train journey in England was around the same travel time but cost around £25, was delayed, absolutely packed and boiling hot, and there was dog poo all over the floor. Oh and I had to stand up the whole journey.
Not all journeys are like that, obviously, but I fail to see where we're getting any sort of value for money. I drive 99% of the time now.
Hard to even justify some of the train links. Can fly to Glasgow for cheaper than I can get the train, in 1/5th of the time.
Oh wait, whoops, slipped into an alternative universe again... (edited)
People should just accept that trains here in UK are some of the worst in Europe but its ok......we win in having the most expensive......its the same inherent structural incompetence we had back when we tried to make cars......cough.....Leyland (edited)
I hated learning to drive, but in the process of re-learning due to how poor our network is in the UK.
It is a RIP OFF
Take the car to work.
Firstly the tickets were over £200, (you can fly to anywhere in Europe for cheaper than that price) I paid the extra for flexible tickets so I could change the train if required, but the app kept throwing a technical error every time I tried to change the train. So I had to get up earlier than required to catch the train I had booked.
On the way back, the train I wanted had been cancelled so I had to get the next one which was packed, so I had to stand until some poeople got off at Milton Keynes.
I will never catch a train in the UK again.
I bet a Taxi from my house to outside the office in London would be a similar price.
It's all part of the same economic circle. Train strikes now taking place over pay so this isn't any real surprise.
Wages and minimum pay get increased, and that's just passed on to the paying public.
So the public end up paying more for goods and services. Don't know what people were expecting to happen!
Just automate the service already !