Train Prices

[mjr]

There is a depot at Norwich (Crown Point?), so the trains come back to Norwich, i.e. arrive from Cambridge, and then set off for a return trip to Yarmouth, etc.

There is also a depot at Cambridge at the other end of that route and some of the regional diesels are there overnight. There's a depot at Ipswich too, although that doesn't currently have the same train types as Norwich, but it will and then we'll probably see units circulating between the Norwich and Ipswich regional routes.

Most people want to return, at least at some point. A bit tricky trying to work out which routes have similar sales for single trips only in each direction, and then making an exception for those routes.

So at the moment, they don't even try, charge everyone almost for the return trip and any tickets sold as reverse-direction singles are almost pure profit?

I thought the oddity of small price differences between singles and returns arose from Beeching-era "market pricing" reforms which estimated that a small enough fixed difference (not a % of price) means that enough one-way off-peak travellers would buy returns instead to make it more profitable than return travellers paying the full cost of their return — and such is the political difficulty of reforming rail fares (someone will always lose out and complain, unless the rail operators take a big loss on the reform) that those fixed differences most commonly of £1 or 2/- (which became 10p on decimalisation) have remained ever since, although they no longer cover the relative cost of the return journeys but it's still better than moving empty seats around for no income.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I thought the oddity of small price differences between singles and returns arose from Beeching-era "market pricing" reforms which estimated that a small enough fixed difference (not a % of price) means that enough one-way off-peak travellers would buy returns instead to make it more profitable than return travellers paying the full cost of their return — and such is the political difficulty of reforming rail fares (someone will always lose out and complain, unless the rail operators take a big loss on the reform) that those fixed differences most commonly of £1 or 2/- (which became 10p on decimalisation) have remained ever since.

That's pretty much what I thought too. Personally I've never found it invidious - if I want an off peak return I whoop with joy because I think I've got a bargain. I may even quietly compliment myself on being such a savvy operator for spotting said bargain. If I want an off peak single - well I'm still getting it cheaper than full price so I still tell myself I'm a clever chap for being so wise as to travel off-peak. If I want to travel at peak time - I am doomed to expensive misery.