Why are UK trains so bad?
Your ancestors did it pretty well when they built a train network in India to plunder the subcontinent.
Train from Warsaw to Chelm costs £9. In UK this 250 km journey would probably cost at least 10 times more.
Submitted 2 weeks ago by sanitation@lemmy.today to mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world
https://lemmy.today/pictrs/image/a100a647-e69b-480c-9609-b9328f13b92e.jpeg
Comments
StillAlive@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
cynar@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The conservatives closed and sold most of the branch lines. They also privatised the trains.
Basically, they completely fucked us, long term, for short term gains.
kate@lemmy.uhhoh.com 2 weeks ago
abbadon420@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
tinwelint@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Probably because the cost of living isn’t the same, and the local money is not on a 1:1 conversion with £?
Shteou@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think even adjusting for PPP the difference is stark. The exchange rate doesn’t really matter here, they’ve already converted to GBP (£9.13 at current prices). If we take the recent world bank PPP values, that’s around £10.88 for someone in the UK when compared with Poland. For comparison, it costs me about £8 for a 13 mile trip. Or £47-£55 for a 140 mile trip (off peak). One way.
So I’d say, at least on that specific journey, the UK is about 4.5x-5.5x the cost, PPP adjusted.
JK_Flip_Flop@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I paid a similar amount to that for a return ticket from Sofia to Plovdiv recently. I was quite pissed off by how great the experience was compared to back home. After a great day out in Plovdiv I unloaded an hour plus Autistic rant about UK public transport costs on my friend sitting next to me.
WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
why is it autistic to care about things being bad? those should receive the shame who willingly accept and forget all the bullshit imposed on them.
JK_Flip_Flop@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s not. I just added that in as I was definitely just info dumping on my friend because it was a train-related topic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
mitch404@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Dude, come to Switzerland… Our trains have a good network and are generally on time, but the price is truly outrageous. Driving by car alone, factoring the price of the car itself, tires, oil, gas, it is still cheaper than taking the train. It’s stupid.
djmikeale@feddit.dk 2 weeks ago
60 euro to go from Copenhagen to Horsens (260 km)
17 euro if you book a couple weeks in advance
SuperSwan@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Wait til you figure out how much it would cost in the US.
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
San Diego to Oxnard is a bit farther and costs $42
unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Notable that when you get off the greyhound bus in the U.S. if it’s middle of the night, no one cares. Now you get to learn new drug intake skills.
If it’s middle of the day, the city bus doesn’t come that way. You walkin!
CombatWombat@feddit.online 2 weeks ago
A ticket for the 278 km journey from Seattle to Portland tonight is $71, or ~5.5x this price. If you plan ahead, it’s like $27, or ~2x this price. Surely US trains aren’t cheaper than UK trains?
unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Image
CombatWombat@feddit.online 2 weeks ago
Imma keep it 100 with you, chief: I’m not smart enough to understand what you meant by posting a screenshot of bus prices underneath my question about the relative train prices between the US and UK.
unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Try Chicago to St Louis