Great Western Coffee Shop

Here's an interesting one - what's the most expensive fare (in pence per mile) for a standard class, walk up  single ticket ... for example,  Exeter to Dawlish Warren is 10 miles and the anytime single fare is 3.90 - so that's 39p per mile.   For simplicity, let's only take routes on which you can make the journey staying on the same FGW train all the way.

It used to be said that Bath Spa to London Paddington was the most expensive line in Britain to travel on, and that you could fly Concorde from Heathrow to Paris for less pence per mile. Whether or not that was based on any firm evidence though is questionable.

Bath - Paddington ^0.68 p/m

Would you believe an astonishing 91p / mile (55 miles, 50 pounds anytime single, staying on the train all the way).  And before you ask, yes, that IS the rail mileage - I'm not looking at Weston-super-Mare to Cardiff  ;)

It is strange that BPW and BTM have the same cost to Paddington, and BPW must be 15-20 miles closer!

That may be to discourage people from Bristol driving out to Parkway and getting a cheaper fare.

the 91p per mile is Swindon to Salisbury ... Leave Swindon at 06:15, get to Salisbury - 40 miles as the crow flies (55 miles rail) - an hour and 20 minutes later and 50 quid poorer.  No, you can't get an "off peak" according to the National Rail site  - that was the lowest fare I was offered for the single journey on that train. On the 18:45 (which is usually much busier) I can get an off peak for just 32 pounds.

Is the 91p per mile already more than a Javelin Journey will cost on South Eastern?

Try Worcester Foregate Street to Worcester Shrub Hill - ^1 for around 800 yards - around ^2.00 per mile. Grahame, how do you get the accurate rail mileage?

Off rules but if you look at the Network Rail timetable an option is to change at Droitwich Spa (not FGW of course) it takes over 20 mins and costs ^4.60 (^9.20 per mile !!!).

It may be worth a 'stupid guidance' thread as well!!!

Hmm ... yes, I wondered whether I should put a minimum distance on it. Again out of area, Culrain to Invershin is a one minute journey of about a quarter of a mile and costs a pound. So that's 4 pounds per mile. Amazingly, it might be a journey people would really make by train too, as (as I understand it) there isn't / wasn't another way across the river between the stations in the area.

I got my mileage from an old (printed) National Rail timetable.  I'm not sure if there's a similar distance one still shown to the side of the first page on the online edition.

P.S. The AA says 42 miles, Swindon to Salisbury.  As the passenger doesn't really mind whether or not his train runs slightly less that direct, I think it may be more suitable to claim a fare of 5000/42 = 119p per mile for the trip.

Not quite sure whether it counts but it is an FGW train. Hayes to Heathrow is about a mile and I believe is at least ^6 pounds single although both are Zone 6. But then it's BAA from Hayes.

I get my GWR miles from R. A. Cooke's excellent Altlas of the GWR.

Quail track plans give current milages.

Google for 'Clive's Online Routing Engine'.

Bedminster to Lawrence Hill won't win any awards for cheapness. Anytime fare is ^3 single = ^1.50 per mile.

Yet Parson St to Clifton Down anytime fare is ^3.10, which is "only" 54p a mile. Anyway, the connections are so bad it's quicker to walk (the same goes for the buses).

There is (link below.)
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/3828.aspx

I was just thinking that there must be some fairly expensive fares mile-for-mile on the Severn beach line: the flat rate fares are dead cheap but some of the stations are very close together, e.g. Montpelier to Redland 37 chains, ^1.50 single which makes for ^3.24/mile (to my shame I did have to look up the number of chains in a mile)! This is a grossly distorted example though: by and large the Beach line is a bargain: try getting from Temple Meads to Clifton Down for just ^1.50 in 16 minutes using Bristol's bus service!

Hayes - Heathrow single is ^4.90
and as you say is priced by BAA

Even when Crossrail is built premium fares will still apply to this section.

Changes to the fare structure on the Severn Beach Line formed a key part of the Severn Beach Line Development Plan (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/Severn%20Beach%20Line%20Development%20Plan.pdf

To save the hassle: http://www.davros.org/rail/routeing-guide.html

Regarding Bristol Temple Meads - Paddington costing more, Bristol Parkway - Paddington is valid via Temple Meads so it would mean people would buy cheaper fares from Parkway when travelling from TM. All Bristol Stations to Paddington cost the same between Temple M & Parkway.

I think the new Severn Beach fares are a good practical system - they're easy to understand, cheap for a day out to England's most unlikely seaside resort, and presumably more fares get collected at busy times because the guard can get through the train faster. Getting a train from Montpelier to Redland is a pretty silly thing to do, so why not have a silly rate per mile!  ;D

It would be nice to see a zonal system all across the Bristol network..... but first we need a network.

if the lines were electrified would the prices drop?

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/relex109/3072539334/)

I love the place myself, I really do. I always find myself trying to add a visit to it on my travels, regardless of whether it is relevant to what I'm actually looking at.

Back in the days before a daytime weekday service was introduced for Severn Beach, Save The Train looked at a day out from Melksham to Severn Beach (link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1889.msg4692#msg4692

Its got a great cafe as well:

I'm sure I read somewhere that Temple Meads to Severn Beach was listed by Thomas Cook as one of the best scenic railway journeys in Europe: there can't be many other journeys of just over 30 minutes where you can see cityscapes, a river gorge, heavy industry and an estuary.


Absolutely, don't get me wrong. I wasn't suggesting that the Beach line fares are high, quite the contrary: they're great value for money. Like I said, ^1.50 for Clifton Down to Temple Meads in about 15 minutes can't be beat.

Given the nature of this thread, I was just looking for (and found) an example of a silly journey that I don't suppose anyone ever makes that just ends up with a high mile-for-mile cost because of the zonal fares. And getting back to the original topic, apart from the Heathrow to Hayes fares set by BAA, am I still winning for an FGW-set fare with ^3.24 per mile between Redland and Montpelier?  ;D