“The three most expensive rail operators in Europe are the ones operating totally or partially in the UK – Avanti West Coast, GWR and Eurostar.” So says T&E (the European Federation for Transport and Environment), a respected Brussels-based organisation campaigning for better, more affordable public transport.
I applaud its stated vision: “To deliver a zero-emission transport and energy system that is affordable, circular, and has minimal impacts on our health and the environment.” Which is why I am alarmed about a deeply flawed survey that will deter British travellers from using the train.
T&E has won huge amounts of publicity from a survey that triggered headlines such as “UK rail fares are now officially the most expensive in all of Europe”.
Except there is nothing official about this survey, and its conclusions are absurd.
I have bought enough train tickets in Switzerland and Scandinavia to know that they are at the top of the league for punitive pricing, way ahead of the UK.
So how did T&E arrive at such a radically different conclusion? Well, by finding fares that have eluded the rest of the world, including the train company that is accused of being one of the three most expensive rail firms in Europe.
Did you know it costs £74.90 to take a mid-afternoon train from London to Milton Keynes? Imagine: a half-hour, 50-mile trip on Avanti West Coast, booked a week ahead, costs more than twice as much as a flight to Spain (Ryanair, Stansted to Palma, £34 on 18 December if you’re interested).
But how many people have ever paid so much for the journey? None, because it doesn’t exist.
The fare for the 3.53pm is £17.10, whether you book a month, a week or five minutes ahead. You could, if you wished, choose to pay £7 more for an Anytime ticket, but I don’t know why you would.
Despite what looks to me like a bizarre 338 per cent inflation of the price of the trip, T&E insists its research is accurate.
Victor Thévenet, the rail policy manager and author of the report, told me: “Data collection was carried out in August for September ticket sales. At the time of data gathering, we found prices [for the London-Milton Keynes trip] ranged from £15 to £74.”
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson told me: “The maximum you can pay for an Anytime single between Euston to Milton Keynes is…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…