The environmental costs of flying are much higher, and the government subsidises rail travel, so what explains the baffling price difference when travelling domestically?
Y
ears ago, airline travel was the preserve of the wealthy, and this may be why it can still come as a surprise when getting on a plane looks like the money-saving choice compared with taking the train.
When the personal finance comparison site Finder did some research this summer, it found flying within the UK was the cheapest option more often than taking the train. It then asked people what they thought of its findings. Louise Bastock, a money expert at the website, says respondents all said “trains should be cheaper as it is public transport and more accessible”, with some saying “it feels all wrong” when plane travel cost less.
I picked a day in October and compared some costs. For lots of intercity trips the train was cheaper, but there were notable exceptions. On the day I looked, a trip from London to Edinburgh at midday on Thursday 2 October cost from £77.10 on a train and from £15 on a plane. Flights at other times the same day were available from below £20, while train tickets started above £40. The cheapest flights were from London Stansted, which purists may not consider London at all. A flight from Heathrow at 1.30pm started from £37.
