Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article . com,
() wrote:

Hi Ken. There are 2 adults and 3 kids (all science mad). Using
http://www.thetrainline.com the cheapest we can get from where we
are to London is 151.20GBP, and it takes much longer door to door too.
We're down in Dorchester

Does that include a Network Card discount? Worth buying a card just for
this trip.

nationalrail.co.uk gives an off peak day travelcard fare of £81.60, so
£101.60 all-in if you have no Network Card and you can use it for the
rest of the year for discounted off-peak rail travel in the South East.

Unfortunately (for SWT) the 250-mile round trip will only cost about £25
of petrol by car in the small vehicle the OP mentions. I know that
doesn't include wear-and-tear, but as much as I like to promote the use
of the train, the car is almost certainly going to be more economical.

--
Dave Arquati
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London

Dave Arquati wrote:
Hi Ken. There are 2 adults and 3 kids (all science mad). Using
http://www.thetrainline.com the cheapest we can get from where we
are to London is 151.20GBP, and it takes much longer door to door too.
We're down in Dorchester

Does that include a Network Card discount? Worth buying a card just for
this trip.

nationalrail.co.uk gives an off peak day travelcard fare of £81.60, so
£101.60 all-in if you have no Network Card and you can use it for the
rest of the year for discounted off-peak rail travel in the South East.

Unfortunately (for SWT) the 250-mile round trip will only cost about £25
of petrol by car in the small vehicle the OP mentions. I know that
doesn't include wear-and-tear, but as much as I like to promote the use
of the train, the car is almost certainly going to be more economical.


Agreed, but given his dislike of driving, his kids' liking of trains
and the possibility that he'll use the Network Card again, it's worth
at least mentioning.

I always forget about the "valid for other people" nature of my Network
Card - I tend to just view it as a YP that only works in London...

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org

Dave Arquati wrote:

Unfortunately (for SWT) the 250-mile round trip will only cost about £25
of petrol by car in the small vehicle the OP mentions. I know that
doesn't include wear-and-tear, but as much as I like to promote the use
of the train, the car is almost certainly going to be more economical.

And, with 5 passengers in a small car with a small engine, quite
possibly just as environmentally-friendly.

Neil

Neil Williams wrote:
Unfortunately (for SWT) the 250-mile round trip will only cost about £25
of petrol by car in the small vehicle the OP mentions. I know that
doesn't include wear-and-tear, but as much as I like to promote the use
of the train, the car is almost certainly going to be more economical.

And, with 5 passengers in a small car with a small engine, quite
possibly just as environmentally-friendly.


Not in the short term, at least: the train will run whether or not the
family catch it, and the extra energy required to lug them about will
be negligible.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org