I have written in the past about travelling by train in the UK. More specifically, I wrote about travelling between London where I lived and Scotland where I'm from. The verdict then was that train was unequivocally the best way to travel. Hiring a car would be prohibitively expensive (as would owning a car in London), planes aren't all that much quicker by the time faffing about in the airports was factored in and certainly weren't worth the increase in cost and coach travel just took too bloody long. I also said that train travel suited my impatient mentality since one was always moving and that the whole travel experience was generally rather pleasant if done with a good book, some sandwiches and a beer; certainly more fun than being treated like terrorist cattle in an airport. I stand by those assertions. There is still, in my opinion, no better way to get between central London and Scotland than by train.
Except now I don't live in London. Spurred on by tinges of homesickness, curiosity and an overwhelming desire to put off doing anything useful I decided to research ways of getting back to my home town.
The two options are essentially car and train. We now have a car so that removes hire costs. Coaches I'm sure are possible but take too long to be valid and where we now live is miles away from any mainstream airport so short of either chartering a plane or gaining my pilot's licence and flying from the local airfield, flying is unworkable.
Let's start with the train. There is now no direct line between here and Edinburgh (the main station with trains out to my home town). This means that any journey will incorporate at least two changes. That said, I don't really count Edinburgh as a change because I know the station well and I know there are trains every fifteen minutes or so to my home town so even if the stated connection is missed, it's no big deal. The other connection however would a) be a source of stress if the first leg was delayed and b) be a source of irritation as having to change half way would disrupt the book, sandwich, beer-fest that would be going on. That said, if it was going to be significantly cheaper or quicker it would be worth it.
Using a popular price-comparison website I found out that a return from here to my home town would cost around £85 with a railcard (which will expire in a couple of months on account of the fact that I'm old but not old enough to be a railcarded oldie!) and around £130 without (based on a weekend trip departing mid-afternoon Friday and arriving back mid-late evening Sunday). The shortest journey time I could find was near-enough 6 hours however most were closer to six and a half with one being well over seven. In addition there is a ten minute journey at either end to get to the station.
Now let's compare that to driving. Using google maps, I found the door to door distance to be around 380 miles. There is a 5 or so mile variation either way depending on the route taken however the average is about 380 - conveniently, it is also the exact distance of the route I am most likely to take which utilises the local knowledge I developed from growing up in the Central belt and combines the most direct route with the quietest and/or fastest roads but differs slightly from the satnav version). So far so good. The projected time for the journey, again according to google maps, is about 6 hours 20 minutes on average. Assuming that both the other half and me were going up then this could be extended to 6 and a half hours for driver changes and longer if it was just me so I could have suitable rest breaks. Factor in running into a bit of traffic here and there and we'll round the whole thing up to six and three-quarter hours.
So far so good. It's roughly on a par with the train in terms of time. Possibly marginally slower depending on which journey estimates you take for the train and if you include getting to and from the respective stations.
Now here's the kicker. Price. The car we have is a 1.2l hatchback so a bit of a lawnmower. Filling the tank costs around 65 quid. Most of the driving we do round about here is either stop-start driving in town or in winding country roads, again with a lot of acceleration and deceleration. In both instances, we generally opt for the gears that give greatest engine response rather than economy. All in all the way the car is driven is not exactly conducive to maximising the fuel economy. That said, it will comfortably do 400 miles on one tank. Any trip up to Scotland would be done mainly on large A roads and motorways at a fairly constant speed. Therefore I would expect the fuel economy to improve greatly. I wouldn't want to put a figure on it but I would be disappointed if it took more than two tanks to get up and back, do a small amount of driving up there and still have a bit left over for when we got back. As a ball park figure therefore, I would hope the total fuel bill would be around £120.
So car v train. If I was going by myself, the train would undoubtedly be cheaper by about fifty quid (I'm ignoring money on beer and sandwiches as I would doubtless spend money when stopping for rest breaks too. That said, it's possible I would spend more on the train as I would be at more of a loose end so if you want to add a tenner to the above prices then go for it). Depending on which trains I got, it may also be slightly quicker, although I doubt by too much. It's not often that I have been on a long train journey that hasn't been delayed in some way, shape or form. On the down side, there would be the hassle of at least one change, getting to and from the station and being tied to the train's schedule. In addition to this is the train its self. Although I have painted a fairly rosy picture so far, not getting a seat is a common occurrence (even if you have taken the trouble to reserve one) and I have seen myself passing long journeys in the vestibule perched on my bag. As if that isn't bad enough, there are other people. If they're not crowded up against you then they are playing their music at ear-splitting volume, bawling into their (i)phones (which of course don't have the sound turned off) or encouraging their kids to make as much noise as possible (why is it that dogs on trains are uniformly better behaved, and more personable, than kids on trains). When train travel goes well, it's brilliant. When it goes badly it's a nightmare. All of the aforementioned are all fairly intangible and only really affect the comfort of getting from A to B. If I was travelling solo therefore, there is a fairly strong case for either form of transport. I think my decision may well be an instinctive one rather than a reasoned one (although the way I'm feeling at the moment, I would probably plump for driving).
If however my other half was going up then the cheapest combined fair would be £170, rising to £215 when my railcard expires in a few months. Automatically the car becomes a no-brainer. It's so much cheaper as well as being available at our convenience rather than having to dance to the tune of the train journeys and has the added advantage of not forcing us to spend may hours in the company of mildly objectionable strangers (not always true, I've met some really nice people on the train but mostly my default setting is antisocial).
Part of me thinks this is a great shame. The idea of public transport is an excellent one however while it continues to be so inefficient and expensive it just isn't a viable option. Hopefully things will reach a critical mass soon and change will occur.
JR
Except now I don't live in London. Spurred on by tinges of homesickness, curiosity and an overwhelming desire to put off doing anything useful I decided to research ways of getting back to my home town.
The two options are essentially car and train. We now have a car so that removes hire costs. Coaches I'm sure are possible but take too long to be valid and where we now live is miles away from any mainstream airport so short of either chartering a plane or gaining my pilot's licence and flying from the local airfield, flying is unworkable.
Let's start with the train. There is now no direct line between here and Edinburgh (the main station with trains out to my home town). This means that any journey will incorporate at least two changes. That said, I don't really count Edinburgh as a change because I know the station well and I know there are trains every fifteen minutes or so to my home town so even if the stated connection is missed, it's no big deal. The other connection however would a) be a source of stress if the first leg was delayed and b) be a source of irritation as having to change half way would disrupt the book, sandwich, beer-fest that would be going on. That said, if it was going to be significantly cheaper or quicker it would be worth it.
Using a popular price-comparison website I found out that a return from here to my home town would cost around £85 with a railcard (which will expire in a couple of months on account of the fact that I'm old but not old enough to be a railcarded oldie!) and around £130 without (based on a weekend trip departing mid-afternoon Friday and arriving back mid-late evening Sunday). The shortest journey time I could find was near-enough 6 hours however most were closer to six and a half with one being well over seven. In addition there is a ten minute journey at either end to get to the station.
Now let's compare that to driving. Using google maps, I found the door to door distance to be around 380 miles. There is a 5 or so mile variation either way depending on the route taken however the average is about 380 - conveniently, it is also the exact distance of the route I am most likely to take which utilises the local knowledge I developed from growing up in the Central belt and combines the most direct route with the quietest and/or fastest roads but differs slightly from the satnav version). So far so good. The projected time for the journey, again according to google maps, is about 6 hours 20 minutes on average. Assuming that both the other half and me were going up then this could be extended to 6 and a half hours for driver changes and longer if it was just me so I could have suitable rest breaks. Factor in running into a bit of traffic here and there and we'll round the whole thing up to six and three-quarter hours.
So far so good. It's roughly on a par with the train in terms of time. Possibly marginally slower depending on which journey estimates you take for the train and if you include getting to and from the respective stations.
Now here's the kicker. Price. The car we have is a 1.2l hatchback so a bit of a lawnmower. Filling the tank costs around 65 quid. Most of the driving we do round about here is either stop-start driving in town or in winding country roads, again with a lot of acceleration and deceleration. In both instances, we generally opt for the gears that give greatest engine response rather than economy. All in all the way the car is driven is not exactly conducive to maximising the fuel economy. That said, it will comfortably do 400 miles on one tank. Any trip up to Scotland would be done mainly on large A roads and motorways at a fairly constant speed. Therefore I would expect the fuel economy to improve greatly. I wouldn't want to put a figure on it but I would be disappointed if it took more than two tanks to get up and back, do a small amount of driving up there and still have a bit left over for when we got back. As a ball park figure therefore, I would hope the total fuel bill would be around £120.
So car v train. If I was going by myself, the train would undoubtedly be cheaper by about fifty quid (I'm ignoring money on beer and sandwiches as I would doubtless spend money when stopping for rest breaks too. That said, it's possible I would spend more on the train as I would be at more of a loose end so if you want to add a tenner to the above prices then go for it). Depending on which trains I got, it may also be slightly quicker, although I doubt by too much. It's not often that I have been on a long train journey that hasn't been delayed in some way, shape or form. On the down side, there would be the hassle of at least one change, getting to and from the station and being tied to the train's schedule. In addition to this is the train its self. Although I have painted a fairly rosy picture so far, not getting a seat is a common occurrence (even if you have taken the trouble to reserve one) and I have seen myself passing long journeys in the vestibule perched on my bag. As if that isn't bad enough, there are other people. If they're not crowded up against you then they are playing their music at ear-splitting volume, bawling into their (i)phones (which of course don't have the sound turned off) or encouraging their kids to make as much noise as possible (why is it that dogs on trains are uniformly better behaved, and more personable, than kids on trains). When train travel goes well, it's brilliant. When it goes badly it's a nightmare. All of the aforementioned are all fairly intangible and only really affect the comfort of getting from A to B. If I was travelling solo therefore, there is a fairly strong case for either form of transport. I think my decision may well be an instinctive one rather than a reasoned one (although the way I'm feeling at the moment, I would probably plump for driving).
If however my other half was going up then the cheapest combined fair would be £170, rising to £215 when my railcard expires in a few months. Automatically the car becomes a no-brainer. It's so much cheaper as well as being available at our convenience rather than having to dance to the tune of the train journeys and has the added advantage of not forcing us to spend may hours in the company of mildly objectionable strangers (not always true, I've met some really nice people on the train but mostly my default setting is antisocial).
Part of me thinks this is a great shame. The idea of public transport is an excellent one however while it continues to be so inefficient and expensive it just isn't a viable option. Hopefully things will reach a critical mass soon and change will occur.
JR
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