I have herd many claims such as
* "First buses in bristol cost more per mile than concorde"
* "First Great western has the most expensive rail tickets in europe"
allong with many other more generic "first is crap" type comments, but i am more interested in knowing if anyone else has any evidence/opinion/contribution to this topic of First running the most expensive railway in europe. Is it true??
I can only give you anecdotal evidence as someone who uses rail where possible in
UK▸ /Germany/France......I'll split this into local and then long distance travel - the one thing I will say for both modes is that it is more reliable on the continent than it is in the UK. For example, when I return from Munich I know the S-bahn S8 is due at 09, 29 and 49 past the hour. I have never once known it to (a) be cancelled or (b) turn up later than 10, 30 or 50 past
Now:
Local - fare structures tend to be easier to understand - no off peak/on peak/oyster/scallop/mussel/cockel differentials. Tickets work similar to the underground - In term so cost - it is cheaper. e.g. central london costs ^4.00 - central munich is ^2.00. Central Berlin - ^2.00. Last time I travelled in Paris - ^2.50.
It is also very very easy for a foreigner who speaks none of the language (I speak SPanish but not german or french) to figure out the system.
If I land at CDG, Munich etc at 11pm - I know the local trains are still running, clean and safe. If I landed at Heathrow at 11 - I'd get a cab.
Distance - cheaper. First Class Munich to Berlin on the ICE was ^100 - that is a six hour journey. The suual of reliable also holds. HOWEVER they ar slightly more complicated in terms of buying tickets. In the UK you walk up and buy a ticket for any train journey from any station. You cannot necessarily get an ICE ticket at the same place as an
SNCF▸ ticket. I cant easily buy a ticket here for travel in Europe - otherwise next time I go to Munich I'd get the Eurostar to Paris then ICE to Munich on the overnight sleeper - cheaper than the plane and delivers me outside the office. However you have to book 7 days in advance as they can only post them to you if you are in UK - I have european friends who can buy online and pick up from ticket machines - I dont normally get 7 days notice!
FGW▸ compared to the rest of the country. FGW walk on fares do tend to be cheaper - both standard and first. BUT the others do a lot more in terms of peak time discounting with book in advance. First - FGW see as a cash cow and rarely do any form of discount - Virgin you can get a ^100.60 ticket for ^24 if you book 3 days in advance (or you could before 1/1) - which is why Virgins season tickets are roughly the same as FGW - they know if they charge too much the people who would use seasons would just book in advance for every day.
I cannot comment on standard - but I do know also that the service first passengers with FGW get is less than the other major intercity
TOC▸ 's. e.g. if I go virgin - I get free wine and food every night (ok - if I do it five nights in a row the menu is the same five nights in a row - but I get fed and I dont have to worry about feeding myself when I get home). Same with
GNER▸ . Even virgin cross country gave you a decent packed lunch.
Maybe the problem with FGW is they dont differentiate enough in fares between first and standard. After the upgrade and fare increase I worked out whether it is worth me going standard - I get on at the start of the journey (in effect) in both directions and can usually be the first on the train so getting a table shouldnt be an issue (although I would be more cramped) but the maths do not add up:
Standard class monthly season
WOS» -
PAD» = 617.90
First class monthly season WOS - PAD = 1075.70 (if you break it at oxford - there is no such benefit for standard if they brak at oxford)
Difference = 457.80
Less 40% which the amount I save in tax = 274.68
Divide by 22 days - the average working days in a month = 12.49 per day
Buy a cup of tea or two on the way down and back and you are paying pennies for virtually guaranteeing a seat and not sniffing someones armpit
Once I worked that out - it was a no brainer!
It is quite annoying to get the 'railways are better in europe' speech! I get this every other day from my customers at work. I have frequently travelled on the continent using my FIP and found the railways to be worse than the UK in parts.
Take for example the RER in paris. These have got to be THE DIRTIEST, most unhygienic and smelliest trains I have every had the misfortune to travel on. Most of which dont run to timetable or anything else. Whilst I will agree that 9/10 of the major routes such as
TGV▸ , Thalys or ICE run pretty well, please please please bear in mind that these are not the sort of trains that most people travel on!!! For intercity journeys of long distance you would probably catch one of these trains - but if you were travelling within the same country or regionally you wouldnt be so lucky.
Also, moving on to the fares structure. Due to certain legislation, many fares cannot legally be altered or removed. Much of the reason that fares can be such a minefield is down to two major reasons:
1) due to franchising, the fares system has gradually become mutated to include many fares/types that were introduced by previous franchises. When these franchises merge to form a new franchise both sets of fares often remain making them confusing. I agree that some form of restructuring takes place. Whilst on this subject - the peak fares are a joke - you can travel on a saver after around 9am (depending on route). How many people have travelled on a train just after peak?? They are typically like sardine tins!! Therefore we should have a mid-peak ticket valid between 9 - 11 for example. AP fares could be removed altogether, and replaced with a standard system of AP fares : Advance A, B, C, D etc. I use these letters for good reason explained in reason number 2:
2) Tickets that are advance purchased are quota controlled. It is therefore often the case that people arrive 3 days before travel expecting the 3-day advance ticket they saw advertised for 8quid!! We as staff know full well it wont be available, and when explaining get all sorts of abuse and threats because it claims it is available until 3 days before!! This is a silly system which causes more problems than what it solves!! Particularly when quotas are subsequently increased.
I have got so involved in my rant that I cant quite remember what I am responding to so I will leave it there. Just a few thoughts to ponder.
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