The mayor of Higher Manchester, Andy Burnham, has triggered a livid response from supporters of the rail trade after posting a tweet evaluating the top-price ticket from Manchester to London with a spread of long-haul air fares.
He tweeted: “Return tickets from Manchester:
- India: £343
- Jamaica: £345
- Brazil: £325
- Ivory Coast: £319
- London (rail): £369”
The best Anytime return fare on Avanti West Coast between the 2 cities is £369.40, and applies throughout morning peak hours, in addition to afternoon peak hours from London, from Monday to Thursday. At different occasions the Off-peak fare of £98.10 covers the journey.
Some individuals responded to Mr Burnham with assertions of even greater fares. Helen (@hjmac41) tweeted: “Paid £450 on the weekend and there was standing room solely.”
The dates for which the air fares quoted by the mayor have been obtained are unclear. Not like the rail ticket, they aren’t fully versatile and don’t enable limitless stopovers.
The Unbiased has requested Mr Burnham for extra particulars. In the meantime we have now priced the most affordable flights to the chosen international locations, along with the costliest Advance rail tickets for Monday 25 April..
The bottom one-stop return fares from Manchester are:
- India: Mumbai through Abu Dhabi £607
- Jamaica: Montego Bay through Atlanta £1,080
- Brazil: Rio through Lisbon: £1,599
- Ivory Coast: Abidjan through Brussels: £901
- London: £334, although railcard holders would pay £220
Mark Smith, the worldwide rail journey guru often called The Man In Seat 61, mentioned: “Sigh. The same old story. They’re all low-cost limited-availability advance-purchase fares besides the rail one which is after all the totally versatile and refundable, limitless availability good-for-any-train enterprise fare for enterprise individuals for when the corporate is paying.”
One other Twitter person responded to Mr Burnham saying: “PM and authorities are utilizing deceptive statements nearly daily, the mayor ought to do higher.”
A less expensive, totally versatile, walk-up fare is obtainable always for people who find themselves ready to vary trains in Crewe and mix an Avanti West Coast prepare with a slower London Northwestern service. The best potential fare is £155.
The Unbiased has requested responses from the Division for Transport (DfT), which units many ticket costs, and the Rail Supply Group, representing prepare operators.
British Airways’ least expensive return fare from Manchester to London Heathrow on Monday is £398, hand baggage solely.
Kaynak: briturkish.com
