The Student Room Group

Why are trains SO EXPENSIVE compared to cars?

16 year old and not able to drive, one of the tickets that's important for my college is £31 return. I worked it out and if I made the same journey in a car, I could get there on 1 gallon and at 37 mpg average across all cars, I would make the journey for less than £6.

Why are they so stupidly expensive?

Scroll to see replies

Original post by gregy521
16 year old and not able to drive, one of the tickets that's important for my college is £31 return. I worked it out and if I made the same journey in a car, I could get there on 1 gallon and at 37 mpg average across all cars, I would make the journey for less than £6.

Why are they so stupidly expensive?


It's beyond me. On a practical note I think it can be cheaper if you get season tickets (I think that's what they're called) and a railcard. Still it's beyond me and for as long as trains provide a less convenient and more expensive service than cars, it's unlikely many would be willing to switch to public transport.
Reply 2
Because the big cost of cars isn't the petrol.
Original post by gregy521
16 year old and not able to drive, one of the tickets that's important for my college is £31 return. I worked it out and if I made the same journey in a car, I could get there on 1 gallon and at 37 mpg average across all cars, I would make the journey for less than £6.

Why are they so stupidly expensive?


You forgot to factor in buying the car, insuring the car, paying for vehicle tax, and paying for maintenance.
Reply 4
Original post by Reue
Because the big cost of cars isn't the petrol.


That may be true, but you can get a cheap used car for under £1000. And after half a year of usage it'll already be paying for itself. Plus, its available 24/7. No horrible booking or hidden charges.
Because people bought into the idea that government is inefficient and by privatising the trains we would see free market competition and improved services.

What actually happened is that companies bought up train services regionally and now we have regional monopolies with very little competition who know you have to use the trains anyway, so don't really care.

It's an absolute nightmare.
Reply 6
Original post by gregy521
That may be true, but you can get a cheap used car for under £1000. And after half a year of usage it'll already be paying for itself. Plus, its available 24/7. No horrible booking or hidden charges.


So buy one then..
I guess it's because the rail market is an oligopoly with a few firms dominating the industry. Therefore they can set prices above the average cost to access supernormal profits? I'm not sure though.
Original post by k4l397
It's beyond me. On a practical note I think it can be cheaper if you get season tickets (I think that's what they're called) and a railcard. Still it's beyond me and for as long as trains provide a less convenient and more expensive service than cars, it's unlikely many would be willing to switch to public transport.


You can't use a railcard with a season ticket.
Season ticket or railcard will knock 30 percent off rail cost.

Is your driving route direct? Is probably more than 37 miles.

If it's in traffic you won't get very good miles per gallon.

Insurance for anyone under 25 is extortionate.

Tax.

Maintenance including MOT.

You can answer e-mail/do work/watch cat videos on the train. Can't in car.

It depends on where you are and what your circumstances are.
Original post by gregy521
16 year old and not able to drive, one of the tickets that's important for my college is £31 return. I worked it out and if I made the same journey in a car, I could get there on 1 gallon and at 37 mpg average across all cars, I would make the journey for less than £6.

Why are they so stupidly expensive?


Because in Britain we don't have a nationalised integrated railway system. Other countries have cheap train travel because their governments put a lot more money in to the railways than we do.

Even the last Labour government allowed rail fares to rise beyond control, then made motoring unaffordable to so they were close to putting people into Limbo! Can't afford the train to work and can't afford to drive to work! You're almost better off on the dole!

Do they think everyone lives in Coronation street and works or studies a few footsteps from home???
It's a complete joke tbf, so glad I can drive.

Train to Bristol from Notts is £150 for the two of us, yeah we could get one of those railcards which gives 25% off for couples but it costs £30 initially and so if you're just doing one big journey for a holiday say..it's barely worth the bother.

Cost in petrol is £40, now clearly there's 270 miles of wear on the car, but if you're making those sort of journeys with regularity, it's still going to be cheaper to run a cheap but reliable model of vehicle and maintain it.
Original post by Reue
So buy one then..


exactly OP hasn't checked insurance prices these are what £3,000-£10,000 a year on average
Original post by jamesthehustler
exactly OP hasn't checked insurance prices these are what £3,000-£10,000 a year on average


Clearly you haven't checked insurance prices recently... £10k???!


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by shaymarriott
Clearly you haven't checked insurance prices recently... £10k???!


Posted from TSR Mobile

that what my quote was gonna be on a beemer my uncle offered me back in july
Original post by jamesthehustler
that what my quote was gonna be on a beemer my uncle offered me back in july


BMW... what model, what postcode, and how old are you?
Original post by jamesthehustler
that what my quote was gonna be on a beemer my uncle offered me back in july


Yeah but "average insurance costs" aren't that high, because nobody is stupid enough to spend that kind of money on a policy, unless they're rich enough and the car is quite special.

Average insurance costs are about £750, and for young drivers about £1750.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by gregy521
16 year old and not able to drive, one of the tickets that's important for my college is £31 return. I worked it out and if I made the same journey in a car, I could get there on 1 gallon and at 37 mpg average across all cars, I would make the journey for less than £6.


You forgot to factor in the cost of buying, insuring, taxing and maintaining your car.

But when you think about what your train ticket pays for, it is pretty good value. If you get on or off at a busy station, there will be a train dispatcher ensuring everyone gets on and off safely. Once you are on the train, there will be a driver and possibly a guard. As you are dashing through the countryside, there will be a series of signalmen ensuring that your train doesn't crash into another. Through the night a team of workmen will have been checking and maintaining the tracks whilst another team check, maintain and clean the train your are sitting on. And that says nothing of the planners, administrators and general jobsworths pushing paper to fuel the weird bureaucracy that is our railway system. To say nothing of the fuel / power / materials required to build, maintain and power the railway. Put in that perspective it is pretty good value.
And here's me able to go to London and back (2 1/2 hours each way) for less than a tenner if I book reasonably in advance. :erm:
I don't know what the hell you guys all drive, but in my first year of driving I paid £500 to insure a brand new ford fiesta (street parking, not even in a driveway). A year later, my insurance went down to £360. Next year, I expect it to be around £300. Where you're getting £750-£2k from I have no idea!

Quick Reply

Latest