Commuting: Would/Do You Use Railways ?

[Stickybottle]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58502589
I have not used a train for many years mostly due to the stories of line closures and rising fares and general unreliability
This latest news and statistics makes HS2 look even more a waste of time and money as well as the untold cost of damage to the countryside
Opinions ?

[ichkeria]

The link seems to be specifically about encouraging people who work in city centres to take the train in.
Obviously whether you train to work or not depends to an extent on where you work: no longer are businesses located to be handy for the railway or public transport in general. And then there's the cost.
Not sure what you do to make the journey to work cheaper and more pleasant although presumably many commuter trains are quieter these days. That's a bit of a catch 22.
Personally I don't need to take a train to work, but when I feel I need to go by train I do so, and find them, as a non-commuter, comfortable and reliable

[emmie]

last time i took the train we stopped just outside Stevenage and stayed there for ages, the whole journey should take about 30 minutes, but 2 and 3/4 hours later we shunted into Kings Cross.

[barry1010]

I don't think £60 for a return journey between Birmingham and Edinburgh is expensive and I would use the train for that trip. I use local trains and trams and on the whole find them good value and reliable.
I don't use them at peak times, though, and that is where they can be very expensive but most commuters would have to compare the cost of the annual ticket to the cost of driving in and parking. Could still be cheaper and more convenient.

I'm sure everyone has horror stories about being stuck in traffic for hours whether in a car, bus, coach or train. Three years ago I caught the bus around the corner from my house to get to Birmingham - just a single bus journey. It should have taken 1 hour and 50 minutes but nearly 4 hours later we were all put off the bus a mile short of the city centre due to horrendous traffic. It was the last Friday before Christmas (we were going to a show) so not too surprising.

[davebro]

If I needed to go into cities I would use the train in preference to driving - but I rarely need to these days.

HS2 should never have been started but stopping it now doesn't seem to be an option. Money should have gone towards improving E-W links.

[Gromit]

I don’t commute to work, but I use trains and trams regularly. I don’t have a car anymore.
The trains I use are very reliable and clean. Getting into Manchester City centre is faster and cheaper by train than driving. Not many lines are closed these days, some are re-opening.

[Maydup]

I love a train journey now and then, but I don’t think I’d take a job that required me to do it every day.

[barry1010]

Ha ha, just checking current prices to travel between Birmingham and Edinburgh and see that I would fly for £16. It does involve an overnight stopover in Majorca, however.

[youngmafbog]

I have used trains for many years off and on. There are good points and bad points, just like any other mode of transport.

Fares are a bit of a problem but unless you make is a public company and vastly subsidise them then you cant do much about it. And look what happened last time we did that!

Dont forget if you use it for work then you buy a season ticket which reduces the cost, on some tickets quite drastically.

[mushroom25]

I've used trains throughout the pandemic. they were ghost trains mostly to start with, but business has begun to pick up and train companies have responded by increasing the number of trains. it's the leisure market that's seen the biggest growth though, and there are horror stories on social media every weekend due to overcrowding - even on long distance routes like London-Manchester.

currently services are operating at 75%-80% of pre-pandemic levels; on some routes it won't be possible to return to a 100% figure because the available space has been handed to the freight market - today there are more freight trains on the west coast route than there have been at any time in the recent past. HS2 had to be started when it was, and unless there's zero growth in traffic over the next 5 years, it will still be needed.

[bednobs]

the problem is for non-commuters trains are still very expensive - i needed to go from Newbury station to Exeter at a weekend (return same day) with my husband, daughter and mother in law a few years ago to see my new niece. Each ticket was going to be at least £90 (except the child which was a bit cheaper)
£300 for a journey is ridiculous, when you think you could stick the 4 of us in a car and do it for much cheaper

[youngmafbog]

You may be able to do it cheaper but I'd be interested to know if you have actually done all the work to find out how much your car costs you per mile (in total so depreciation, MOT, Insurance, RFL, fines congestion charges maintenance incl tyres etc).

[douglas9401]

Hard to put a price on control and convenience to say nothing of not having to deal with lumpen ignorami in stations.

[bednobs]

crumbs no i havent done all that work, but dont forget my car would depreciate and id have to get mot and insurance on it whether i drove it to exeter, or it stayed in the station carpark that day

[webbo3]

Worst(first) bus in Bristol, its Diabolical.