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BBC's 212 words on UK railways

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18983558

Jon Kelly & Husain Husaini said:
Some visitors might think UK rail travel is expensive. Certainly, the 260m (0.16 mile) Tube journey from Covent Garden to Leicester Square, at £4.30 for a paper ticket, is a solid candidate for the world's most expensive railway trip.

This has got me thinking, using advance single fair tickets what's the furthest you can travel in the UK for the least amount of cash?

(With and without Railcards)
 
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NSE

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During Southern's offer, I got Milton Keynes to Brighton for 75p I think.

But with normal advances I got Bristol to Exeter for £4ish and Cambridge to Birmingham via London for £7.50 (all 16/25)
 

cuccir

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Some very cheap Megatrain fares will be up there, as will some of East Coast's London-Inverness advances.
 

PaxVobiscum

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Usual advance apologies if this has already been posted (don't believe so) or would be more appropriate somewhere else.

EDIT: I was wrong http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=69153 refers to the same article - different take though.

Oh and I haven't actually counted the words myself.

The introduction says:

What do people visiting the UK for the Olympics need to know about the nation's quirks, habits and rules?

The British obsession with talking about the weather is much discussed, but there are a host of other oddities and complexities that visitors might do well to acquaint themselves with.

Then follows a series of paragraphs on such topics as Accents, the bobby, Class, Gastropubs, Nationality etc. The one on "Railways" reads:

Some visitors might think UK rail travel is expensive. Certainly, the 260m (0.16 mile) Tube journey from Covent Garden to Leicester Square, at £4.30 for a paper ticket, is a solid candidate for the world's most expensive railway trip. Then there's the complexity. Arriving at Gatwick airport and wanting to get a train to London, you would find two operators and then the "express". All are different prices. Single or return? Two singles might be cheaper than a return. Do you want an "anytime" ticket in case your plane is late or choose an "advance" fare? The "advance" might be cheaper but is worthless if you miss the train. You could take an "off peak" ticket but be careful - what "off peak" means can vary. Confused? The fare structure may be confusing, but it allows the operators to target expensive fares at business travellers who are willing to pay while still attracting more frugal consumers who might be tempted by alternative transport, says Mark Smith, founder of rail website www.Seat61.com. And if you're from anywhere else in Europe, don't be too smug. The ticketing model is catching on elsewhere, Smith says. Visitors should also get used to: "No smoking, even in the vestibule areas." That means those bits between the carriages.

I wonder what the witty and informed contributors here would say about UK railways in 212 words (or thereby)?

London 2012: A 12-part guide to the UK in 212 words each
 
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D6975

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I did Marylebone - Moor St for 50p return during Chiltern's recent promotion.
Thats 0.224p per mile

The best value ordinary advance ticket I've bought is Bristol-Paignton for £6. It costs me £3.30 to get the bus to TM!
 
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telstarbox

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Do you want an "anytime" ticket in case your plane is late or choose an "advance" fare? The "advance" might be cheaper but is worthless if you miss the train.

Not sure why this is "complex" - the Anytime ticket can be used in many more ways than the Advance. It's like saying a cutlery set costs more than an individual fork!

Certainly, the 260m (0.16 mile) Tube journey from Covent Garden to Leicester Square, at £4.30 for a paper ticket, is a solid candidate for the world's most expensive railway trip.

And very few people would ever buy this ticket.
 

LexyBoy

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"Some visitors might think UK rail travel is expensive. Certainly, the 260m (0.16 mile) Tube journey from Covent Garden to Leicester Square, at £4.30 for a paper ticket, is a solid candidate for the world's most expensive railway trip."

Pfft. Buy on board instead and it could be £80!

I'd think one of the Megatrain £1.50 tickets would be up there if you discount offers such as FCC's giveaway of scratchcard tickets to anyone that signed up for their mailing list.
 

All Line Rover

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Not this again. NO ONE buys that ticket unless they want a very unusual sort of souvenir. Covent Garden to Leicester Square. Good god. All of 5 minutes by foot, how awful.

More common are those making a single journey between mainline termini, such as Euston to Waterloo. I often see some rather shocked foreigners being told that it will cost them over £4 to make a ten minute journey on a rapid transport system.

The BBC article also mentions the Gatwick Airport mess, which is justified, but any simplification of the current Gatwick Airport fares set-up (which is going to happen in a few years anyway), will only end up with everyone paying more, not less.
 
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