The great train robbery: UK's 10 most exorbitant rail routes... and they're run by just TWO companies
- Companies First Great Western and Virgin Trains are named and shamed
- Mail on Sunday investigation exposed 10 most expensive 'standard' tickets
- The most expensive ticket is fast approaching £1 for every mile travelled
- Other premium routes include London to Bristol, Liverpool and Cardiff
Two of Britain’s biggest rail companies are today named and shamed for regularly charging fares that cost three-and-a-half times the price per mile of those sold by other firms.
A Mail on Sunday investigation reveals that First Great Western and Virgin Trains are responsible for the ten most expensive standard class tickets in the country – with the priciest fast approaching an extraordinary £1 per mile travelled.
The cost of tickets across the 31 different operators varies from just 25.2p per mile for a £184 single fare on the Caledonian sleeper from London to Wick in northern Scotland to 89.5p per mile for a £164.50 peak-period Virgin single fare from London to Manchester.
Exposed: A Mail on Sunday investigation has exposed two of Britain's biggest rail companies - Virgin and First Great Western - for charging exorbitant fares that come to three-and-a-half times the price per mile of those sold by other firms
Exorbitant: The investigation revealed the 10 most expensive standard class tickets in the country (pictured), and they were all run by Virgin or First Great Western
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Nearly as pricey is the standard London to Bath fare of £92 – the equivalent of 86p per mile – charged by First Great Western, whose customers face delays and cancellations this weekend because of a strike called by the RMT union.
Other routes where passengers are forced to pay a premium include those between London and Bristol, Liverpool and Cardiff.
Last night transport campaigner Christian Wolmar said the huge gulf in prices shamed Britain.
He said: ‘No other European country has such huge discrepancies in fares. The system is incomprehensible to most people and a deterrent to rail travel.’
The latest figures have been produced by Barry Doe, a railway expert who has been analysing train fares for nearly 40 years and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
He said Virgin and First Great Western were ‘clobbering’ passengers who had to travel at busy times by forcing them to pay the highest rates.
‘Many people are forced to travel at the most expensive times of the day because of the length of their journey. If you need to get to Manchester for an event starting at 11am, for example, you may have to begin your journey before cheap walk-on tickets are available.’
Train fares in Britain are among the highest in Europe and campaigners say the system is so complicated that it is virtually impossible for customers to find the best value for money.
Named and shamed: A First Great Western train pulls into Paddington Station, London. Transport campaigners condemned the sky-high prices, saying the system is so complicated that it is virtually impossible for customers to find the best value for money
This month Rail Minister Claire Perry was ridiculed after claiming it was possible to buy a ticket between Manchester and London for £15. When pressed to explain her remark, the Department for Transport insisted that £15 tickets did ‘technically exist’ but was unable to find any currently available.
Many fares have more than trebled in the two decades since privatisation, with some open return tickets now costing more than a flight to New York. High-cost standard fares from London include Crewe (80.1p per mile), Cardiff (75p) and Exeter (69.5p). At the other end of the scale, some discounted fares booked weeks in advance can cost as little as 6p per mile.
A First Great Western spokesman said: ‘While these figures show the most expensive, long-distance, peak-time tickets, several cheaper alternatives are available.
‘More than 75 per cent of all passengers travel from London to Bristol for less than £50.’
A Virgin Trains spokesman said: ‘We have a lot of great value fares. Passengers can travel from the capital to Glasgow, a journey of some 400 miles, for only £30.’
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