Britain's Railways Aren't Expensive You Know. No, Really
It's who pays, not how much
Another of those haute bourgeois whines that so irritate when they buzz around the public conversation:
Soaring train fares have created a gruelling “commuter tax”, which is swallowing more than half of rail passengers’ incomes.
Not really, no.
Silviya Barrett, of Campaign for Better Transport, said: “This will harm all rail passengers, but those who regularly travel into work will be particularly hard hit, and could be forgiven for seeing ever-rising rail fares as a commuter tax.
“With the prices of energy, water and food increasing, too, many will struggle.
“In its fundamental reshaping of the rail industry, the Government must not ignore fares: by making rail travel more affordable it can increase rail passengers and fare revenue, as well as benefiting everyone through clearer roads, a stronger economy, cleaner air and lower carbon emissions.”
And that’s not really true either.
Now, admittedly, I’m using slightly old figures here but they still make the general case for us.
GB TOCs normalised total cost per train kilometre are at the lower end in commuter and long distance service. In commuter services, GB TOCs' average cost are £ 11.29 per train kilometre, whilst European comparators produce a train kilometre at cost of £ 11.41. In regional services, GB TOCs produce a train kilometre at cost of £ 9.95 (ranking 5% above the average of continental Europe). In long distance services, GB TOCs' average cost is £ 9.65 per train kilometre (below those of European comparators).
The total cost of rail in the UK is actually a little bit better, a little bit below, the European average. OK, if you prefer, around and about the same as.
So, why are fares higher?
We subsidise ticket prices much less, we insist that travellers pay the cost of their travel much more. Or even, we insist the general taxpayer pick up less of the costs of others’ lifestyle than many other places. Ho, Hum, eh?
Which is exactly what the Camapign for Better Transport is whingeing about. Government must make trains cheaper for the sort of people who travel on trains by making the sort of people who do not travel on trains pay for those right sort of people.
It’s the haute bourgeoisie, travelling in from Home Counties rural glory to artistic jobs in London insisting that the proles must pay for them to do so.
Fuck ‘em.
It is true that we might be able to make rail even better. Proper competition, several operators on the same line perhaps. True airline style variable pricing maybe.
But Darren and Trace getting taxed for Tarquin and Jocasta to get from Virginia Water to Covent Garden? As I say, fuck ‘em.
The cost structure of Britain’s railways is as it is because we ask that those who travel on trains pay to travel on trains. Aren’t we such heartless bastards, eh?
"by making rail travel more affordable it can increase rail passengers and fare revenue"
But in terms of commuters (and excepting some of the particular changes post-Covid*), no, it can't. Commuter trains into London are (roughly speaking) full. And when you've filled trains at the asking price you can't carry more people. And you've either got the price about right or you perhaps need to raise them. The government capped fares, so in fact, the TOCs wanted to raise fares.
The spare capacity is off-peak and could be priced better but you can't do much about high commuter fares.
It's also worth noting that the greenest form of transport (according to the Department of Transport) is coach travel, not rail in terms of CO2/passenger km. Yes, a full train is the greenest form of transport but a lot of them aren't full. All that greed pig capitalism at National Express and Megabus means they fill coaches as much as they can using airline pricing. If a seat to London is empty, might as well charge £7 for it as £0. Pretty much free money.
It would be cheaper and greener to shut down most of the rural rail and have coaches competing for business.
* Post-Covid there has been a decline in Monday and Friday travel as that's a day people tend to WFH but the prices are still the same as every other day.
Very true, but it's worth noting that on the Continent (France, at least) the cost of travel to the place of work is an allowable deduction against income tax. In the UK, it isn't if you're on PAYE, but it is for the self-employed, which is a bit odd.