Travel fast!

[Frank]

Well, you might be able to, by air, if you weren't required to be there two hours early, just in case. I never understood how they get away with that, and I am determined to see if it holds true next time, when I'm going to be just in time.

By car? Ha, ha. You might be able to do it in Germany, by night, if it wasn't for all those suicidal and righteous people who feel that nobody should be allowed to drive over 120 km/h, and will happily start to overtake a car that is only going marginally slower just before you would be passing them at high speed. Which is about the same as in most other European countries, although there it's the maximum speed allowed by law as well. Unless you drive a supercar in Italy, of course. In that case, the sky is the limit.

By train! Yes, that's a great way to travel. You only have to be just in time, it hurries along and you can relax. It's only unfortunate, that getting to and from the railway station is such a hassle.

Actually, if you want to be somewhere in just about any big EU city, train and underground are the single best way to do it. As long as you start in another big EU city, that is. Or live next to a railway station.

Everyone else can think about relaxing in the traffic congestion whenever technology catches up and finally makes that possible.

 

[Davros]

escept the train cost a fortune in the u.k
for example a 200mile journey tommorow liverpool to london
normal fare is £107 first class is £171

 

[Frank]

WOW! It would cost me at most 30 Euros to travel that distance around here at normal fare, 50 for first class and 17 with reduction.

Students and other people with low income can travel very cheap or completely free, with the other mass transportation services as well.

 

[Davros]

you can get cheaper if you book in advance
or are prepared to travel late at night ect

 

[Frank]

Why is that? The UK has a very extensive railroad system as well, and highways are just as congested as in the rest of Europe.

 

[Davros]

because they can i guess plus they pull in huge goverment subsidies
personally i dont see why a train should cost more than a coach

i think the excuse they use is they have to maintain the tracks
after all we get extreme conditions like "leaves on the track" and "the wrong kind of snow" - true excuses

 

[Davros]

found this


Britons pay more to travel by rail than anyone else in Europe, a survey has shown.

British railways are officially the most expensive after research revealed that £10 will buy commuters an average of 38 miles. That is almost three times the cost of travelling the same distance in France.

The same money would buy rail travellers around 350 miles in Slovakia, 200 miles in Italy and 100 miles in Spain.

Tom Brake, the transport spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, who compiled the report, said it was disgraceful that in this country each mile travelled by train cost nearly £4.

"Ten pounds in Britain will barely take you from one county to the next - in Europe it takes you to the next country."

 

[Frank]

i think the excuse they use is they have to maintain the tracks
after all we get extreme conditions like "leaves on the track" and "the wrong kind of snow" - true excuses

Yes, we get the same excuses and much more accidents (one or two each year) since they privatized all of it. Before that it was cheaper and safer, and the trains kept to their schedule. And they went more often as well.

 

[Mize]

escept the train cost a fortune in the u.k
for example a 200mile journey tommorow liverpool to london
normal fare is £107 first class is £171

motorcoach is the only way in the UK, trains are a "bloody" rip-off.

 

[_xxx_]

Trein is too expensive here, car is still your best bet for short and medium distance.

 

[Simon F]

Well, you might be able to, by air, if you weren't required to be there two hours early, just in case.

Only two hours? We're regularly told to turn up 3 hours before the departure time.

 

[Arwin]

I have two primary methods of travel:

1. Train. Essential for going to and from big cities, especially in the morning. I use a folding bike (brompton) whenever I have to be a little further away from the train, as that's by far the fastest way to get anywhere in a city most of the time. The walk from the trian to the trams and the small wait in between is usually enough for me to get to my destination by folding bike already.

2. Car. The Prius, being an automatic, and being extremely quiet in traffic jams (electric for the most part in those cases), is certainly one of the more comfortable cars for driving in heavy traffic. Together with a proper navigation system, and the feeling that you're not in a hurry and if you can only drive 90km/h in some areas you can see your consumption drop to 4.5l/100km and less, so you can at least feel good about that.

While I lived closer to (Almere) and even in Amsterdam, I really didn't need a car at all. A bicycle and public transport was more than enough. Where I live now, however, a car is more important, although even here trains get better every day. From here to Amsterdam (2:30 hours), Brussels (1:20 hours), Paris (3:10 hours) is all much easier and more comfortable by train. Even from Amsterdam to Paris, or from Amsterdam to Frankfurt is starting to become more comfortable and faster by train. I particularly like the German ICE trains. They are extremely comfortable, with very large and very roomy seats (compare the much less comfortable French TGV). By the time they get to Frankfurt, they go up to and over 300km/h, and the only bother you get from that is occasional bits of pressure on your ears when they go through a tunnel (which admittedly is fairly often).

Also, the bus is not mentioned above, but in some cases makes for a fairly decent and almost always cheap alternative, also in the UK in my experience. I'm fairly tall so it's not that comfortable always for me, but it certainly works.