Train fares out on a limb

Being out on the Eastern limb of England isn’t a problem for a PR agency covering the whole of the UK.   The internet’s shrunk the world anyway, and same-day meetings aren’t a problem anywhere where the Queen’s head is on the money or the postage stamp. 

But we do like to go by train if we can.   And thanks to nearby Norwich Station, we often can.

So we aren’t happy at the mess that is the UK train fares system.  Booking in advance or buying on the day, ticket purchase is a postcode lottery where train travel varies hugely in cost from city to city, region to region.

In two wonderful posts, Not fare and Still not fare, London blogger Diamond Geezer has researched the comparative costs of travelling to various cities, of booking in advance compared to turning up at no notice, and of the various train regions.  It makes fascinating eye-opening reading.

For example, from London to Bournemouth, the difference between a turn-up-and-go rush hour ticket and a weekend off-peak return is £4.60, whereas to Norwich (about the same distance) it’s £37.   Travelling London to Bath, and the difference is an astonishing £85.   The train regulators might think this is an incentive to book ahead; I think it’s an incentive to go by car.  Or to base a business in Bournemouth.

More train fare booking advice (if you have the patience to jump through the hoops) on Moneysavingexpert.com