(20 Oct 2017, 10:40 am)GuyParkRoyal wrote Several years ago I stopped using the train for local travel because the bus was so much cheaper. I recently decided to give rail travel another try due to ageing buses appearing on the X21 and single deck vehicles creeping on to the 21 allocation.
I was surprised to discover that the train is now cheaper than the bus for my travel from Chester le Street to Durham and Newcastle (after 09:00).
Chester le Street to Newcastle return by bus £5.00
Chester le Street to Newcastle return by train £4.70 but reduced to £3.10 using my railcard.
Chester le Street to Durham return by bus £5.00
Chester le Street to Durham return by train £4.00 reduced to £2.65 using my railcard.
The train might not be as frequent as the bus but on the days when I can plan my journey around the train timetable that will now be my preferred mode of travel.
You'd be surprised at how much cheaper some local train journeys are compared to bus journeys.
Newton Aycliffe - Darlington on the train costs at off peak times: Single £3.10 and Return £3.20. Don't know what the price for the bus is but I imagine it will be more than that, especially if you live near the train station using the 5/5A.
Should be interesting to see what happens come December when the Bishop Line service increases from a 2 hour frequency to a hourly frequency during the daytime.