Most Expensive Rail Ticket

Lee_Again · 23 Jan 2009

Was touched upon in a recently closed thread... but what is the most expensive train ticket in the UK? Let's base this on pence per mile (ppm).

First and Standard class.

I'll start with the First Class single & Standard Class single from Paddington to Heathrow;
F=£26/176ppm S=16.50/112ppm.

For comparison London to Manchester;
F=£193.50/105ppm S=123.50/67ppm

Question for you ticket experts. If you start back on station from the London terminus, do you have to add £4 cash single on the tube or is a trough ticket available for just a little over the terminus destination fare?

RailUK Forums

mrcheek · 23 Jan 2009

The most expensive ticket I ever bought was a 2 week first class ALR, for a bargain price of only £860!!!
This was 18 months ago, and prices have NOT gone up!!

glynn80 · 23 Jan 2009

To answer your question on adding fares for tube singles, you can purchase National Rail tickets to Zone U1 which is valid to any underground station in Zone 1 (other zones are available if travelling outside Zone 1) this is not as high as the £4 cash fare charged for example a Dover to London Terminals CDS is £25.40 and a Dover to Zone U1 is £28.40. So here it is £3 extra and thus still cheaper on Oyster at £1.50.

sven945 · 23 Jan 2009

Buy the most expensive rover ticket and only use it for a particularly short journey (Falmouth Town to Falmouth Docks springs to mind, but I'm sure there's a shorter one. Perhaps something for another thread). But that's perhaps cheating.

glynn80 · 23 Jan 2009

I do remember actually that the longest distance season ticket you can buy is from Berwick upon Tweed to London Terminals, and if you add a Travelcard Z1-6 to that ticket the Annual season ticket price comes to a grand total of £18,080 STD Class or £30,720 First Class.

Anything higher anyone?

Lee_Again · 23 Jan 2009

Good info Glynn80. That could up the ppm figure a little.

Not quite sure the ALR for a short hop is in the spirit of the question. Afterall, you could buy any ticket and not use it at all - that would give an infinate pence per mile.

voyagerdude220 · 23 Jan 2009

sven945 said:
Buy the most expensive rover ticket and only use it for a particularly short journey (Falmouth Town to Falmouth Docks springs to mind, but I'm sure there's a shorter one. Perhaps something for another thread). But that's perhaps cheating.

Falmouth Town to Falmouth Docks is indeed short- 0.37 miles, however
Deansgate to Manchester Oxford Road is only 0.29 miles long (or more precisely short)

Lee_Again · 23 Jan 2009

ALL MP's are given First Class Season Tickets from their constituency to London. The public can't buy these but there must be some kind of internal costing. Anybody have any detail on these?

Darandio · 23 Jan 2009

I know that this is a thread looking for the most expensive ticket but seeing as though there were ppm figures, I thought I would check a single on my most regular journey. Redcar Central to Darlington works out at around 23.7ppm.

glynn80 · 23 Jan 2009

Lee_Again said:
Good info Glynn80. That could up the ppm figure a little.

Not quite sure the ALR for a short hop is in the spirit of the question. Afterall, you could buy any ticket and not use it at all - that would give an infinate pence per mile.

Thinking a little Leicester Square to Covent Garden is 260 metres or 0.16155651 miles. At £4.00 single this equates to 2475.91385 pence per mile or 24.7591836 pounds per mile.

Lee_Again said:
ALL MP's are given First Class Season Tickets from their constituency to London. The public can't buy these but there must be some kind of internal costing. Anybody have any detail on these?

I know there is a House of Commons Warrant allowing MPs to purchase tickets but thats about it.

John @ home · 23 Jan 2009

Lee_Again said:
ALL MP's are given First Class Season Tickets from their constituency to London.

Can you quote a source for this information?

My understanding was that MPs were able to claim reimbursement of first class rail fares between the House of Commons and their constituency, rather than being "given First Class Season Tickets".

John

furryfeet · 23 Jan 2009

waverley to haymarket is £2.30 1st class single

so even if they are 1.50 miles apart then that is 153ppm
anyone know the precise distance ?

me123 · 23 Jan 2009

Golf Street-Barry Links (1.0375 miles; £0.80 ADS) is (only) £1.30/mile.

Edinburgh-Haymarket is 1 mile 18 chains (1.3 miles) so that's £1.77/mile in FC.

The Falmouth Town-Docks (90p ADS) works out as £2.43/mile.

Deansgate-Manchester Oxford Road (£1.10 ADS) is £3.79/mile.

A two week first class ALR (£860) on City Thameslink-Blackfriars (0.25 miles) works out as a whopping £3440/mile!!! (Assuming of course that you only use it for this journey). You can't even buy a ticket for this journey it's so short!

Lee_Again · 23 Jan 2009

John @ home said:
Can you quote a source for this information?

My understanding was that MPs were able to claim reimbursement of first class rail fares between the House of Commons and their constituency, rather than being "given First Class Season Tickets".

John

Sorry, John @ Home. I will look for a source. At present I am recalling this from 'once hearing it'. It's not good form to have no source. Leave it with me.

clagmonster · 23 Jan 2009

me123 said:
A two week first class ALR (£860) on City Thameslink-Blackfriars (0.25 miles) works out as a whopping £3440/mile!!! (Assuming of course that you only use it for this journey). You can't even buy a ticket for this journey it's so short!

Looking in Avantix, a first day single is £3, standard day single £2.

Lee_Again · 23 Jan 2009

Lee_Again said:
Sorry, John @ Home. I will look for a source. At present I am recalling this from 'once hearing it'. It's not good form to have no source. Leave it with me.

John @ Home - just looked at the MP's benefits etc and it appears that fares are repaid rather than a season being issued. Sorry about that. Not sure where I got this from. My mind palying tricks maybe.

John @ home · 23 Jan 2009

me123 said:
City Thameslink-Blackfriars (0.25 miles) ... You can't even buy a ticket for this journey it's so short!

The NFM 02 disk lists:
LONDON BLKFRIARS - CITY THAMESLINK
Route NOT UNDERGROUND
FDR 6.00
SDR 3.90
CDR 3.00 B1
FDS 3.00
SDS 2.00

John

me123 · 23 Jan 2009

NXEC wouldn't sell me that ticket, but on those fares:

Blackfriars-City Thameslink FDS (£3 for 0.25 miles) = £12/mile!

Wow. Thanks guys

EDIT: I was searching for fares at the weekend, and there currently aren't any service :oops:

NXEC will sell the ticket when services are running, though :lol:

At that price, though, I'd probably just walk!

David · 24 Jan 2009

glynn80 said:
I do remember actually that the longest distance season ticket you can buy is from Berwick upon Tweed to London Terminals, and if you add a Travelcard Z1-6 to that ticket the Annual season ticket price comes to a grand total of £18,080 STD Class or £30,720 First Class.

Anything higher anyone?

Avantix isn't showing this anymore, just the season to London Terminals.

Still an eye watering £29776 in first class, and £17516 in standard

clagmonster · 24 Jan 2009

Still showing in NFM02 for me. £30744 first class, £18084 second class.

furryfeet · 25 Jan 2009

two more for the list

worcester shrub hill to foregate St
culrain to invershin

me123 · 25 Jan 2009

£2.35/mile Culrain-Invershin
Only £1.69/mile between the two Worcester stations.

Dumbarton Central-Dalreoch's another one. At only 30 chains, £0.90 single works out as £2.40/mile.

martyn29 · 26 Jan 2009

whats the best value priv ticket?

Most Expensive Rail Ticket

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