Random thought
I know, I know, it’s been nearly a year, so in an effort not to disappear from the blogosphere altogether, here’s a little thought:
Next week I have to go to Hexham Abbey in Northumberland to shoot Songs of Praise, followed by a brass quintet recital in Cardiff the day after. Without going into too much detail on the logistics of the trip, I have the choice of either getting the train up to Hexham or driving. The train takes 3 1/2 hours (or so says the timetable), while Multimap reckons it’s a 6 hour drive. I would guess at spending about 40 quid on petrol, while the train ticket (saver single) costs 95 quid.
Now I’d quite like to take the train - not least because I can leave later and I don’t have to drive all day, but mostly because it is of course the environmentally responsible thing to do. What beats me is that at a time where “carbon footprints” are trailing all over the news and politicians on all sides are desperately trying to flaunt their green credentials (or pretending that they have them at all), it is deemed quite reasonable for a train journey to cost more than double the same car journey.
Does that seem completely backwards to anyone else? Is having a conscience really supposed to be that expensive? And speaking of consciences, what the hell happens to my 95 quid? This is not a left-wing pinko commie rant (ok, maybe it is a little bit) and I’m aware that the chances of ever having a fully nationalised rail industry are pretty slim, but considering where people’s priorities are these days it seems obvious to me that there are a hell of a lot of votes in it for the guy who can make train fares cheaper.
I’d like to say I’ll be making my protest by taking the car, but the notion of an environmental demonstration by one person in a car seems equally absurd.
I wonder how much flights to Newcastle are these days…
