Full list of train companies with the most expensive rail tickets in Europe

The UK has been ranked bottom of the league table when it comes to the cheapest rail tickets in Europe.

Of 27 rail operators analysed, Avanti and Great Western Railway were in the bottom three, which was completed by Eurostar, which runs the UK’s key Channel Tunnel service.

GWR, listed at the bottom, had fares two-and-a-half times higher than the average across the EU, the study by campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) found.

Avanti West Coast passengers paid one-and-a-half times more in the study, which tracked more than 8,000 tickets.

Prices were calculated by examining average costs for standard fares in second-class carriages on weekdays, with purchases made both seven and 28 days in advance. Special fares and reductions were analysed separately.

Travelling by rail in the UK is ‘particularly costly’, researchers found, adding that high infrastructure costs and ‘private monopolies’ have ‘a responsibility’ for this.

Eurostar fares were found to be nearly double the price of other European operators offering long-distance high-speed journeys of a similar length.

These elevated fares ‘cannot be attributed solely to costs associated with the Channel Tunnel’, the report said.

Although Avanti and GWR were singled out, this does not mean they were necessarily the most expensive in the UK. They were just the only UK-specific operators surveyed, as the report took in the whole of Europe and included a limited number of operators rather than all of them in order to be manageable.

But are we getting a better service for this extra cost?

Sorry, no. Not according to the report at least, which said there was ‘no correlation’ between price and how well operators scored in other categories.

GWR and RegioJet had comparable scores of 6.6 on non-pricing factors, yet GWR’s prices are six times higher, the report said.

In the overall scores, which look at eight criteria including ease of booking and reliability, Avanti, GWR, and Eurostar rank in 19th, 22nd, and 27th positions, respectively.

Affordability accounted for 25% of the final score. Special fares and reductions, ease of booking and reliability were the other three key criteria, worth 15% each.

The UK operators were given marks for offering tickets relatively far in advance, with Eurostar letting passengers book up to 11 months before their trip, and GWR and Avanti offering weekly tickets 6 and 3 months in advance and weekend tickets 3 months and 11 weeks in advance respectively.

‘However, with the exception of GWR, they are weak in terms of reliability,’ the researchers said.

They added: ‘Avanti and GWR lead in compensation, offering refunds for delays as short as 15 minutes—well beyond the UK’s legal minimum of 50% for delays over 30 minutes. EU operators could learn from their example. 

‘Overall, the UK has a unique opportunity to rethink its offering all together given the ongoing process to renationalise its railways.’

Michael Solomon Williams for Campaign of Better Transport, added: ‘With limited rail services and expensive tickets, it is little wonder that many UK travellers choose to fly to mainland Europe instead.

‘Our international rail link barely scratches the surface of its original ambition. There is massive untapped potential for new and more affordable services, with opportunities for new operators and new destinations.

‘The Government should produce an International Rail Strategy with targets to shift journeys from air to rail, and work to reduce rail tolls which are considerably higher than in other countries’.

A Eurostar spokesperson said its ‘launch prices have not changed” since it introduced a new website and app in October last year, which made it “even easier for our customers to find the lowest fares’.

The spokesperson added: ‘Eurostar has had a record number of passengers travel in 2024 and expects that figure to grow as we continue to invest in our services.’

The Department for Transport, the Rail Delivery Group (which represents train operators), Avanti and GWR were approached for comment.

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