Trains

I went to Colchester last week for a workshop at the University of Essex. The workshop was interesting, but the train journeys were something else. I don't know what the prices for train travel were like here before privatisation, but the current prices are eye-wateringly expensive.

Colchester is an hour north of London, in Essex, near the sea. It is pretty much a commuter town for London workers, and several trains go every hour. The train leaves from Liverpool St station, and I travelled outside of peak hour (9.30pm), so I received the off-peak rate.... 20.30 pounds... one way! How much does it cost during peak hour?! Two one-way trips and a tube ride to Euston cost me around 45 pounds, for which you can travel from Manchester to London and back if you book ahead.

No wonder people from the south-east are always complaining about transport costs. I met a student from Sussex at the conference who lives in Brighton. I remarked to him that it must have been a quick and cheap trip. Wrong! It took himi four hours to get there because he had to go through London (my journey was quicker and probably twice the distance) and the return trip was costing him 70 pounds!

It is amazing that anyone can afford to go anywhere in this country.