There was a time when I would jump on a train without thinking twice and head to another town or city. I adored discovering vegan cafés, supporting independent vegan businesses, and turning up at vegan events all over the country.
Those trips were always a highlight, a way to feel connected, and an opportunity to share what’s going on beyond London on this blog.
But things have changed.
Read more below.
The cost of rail travel in the UK has climbed to such an absurd level that I often cannot even consider making those journeys anymore. Every time I look at the price of a ticket, I feel angry and disheartened. What was once a straightforward and affordable pleasure has been turned into something only accessible if you have a lot of disposable cash.
I know I am not alone in this frustration. Surely these relentless increases are hurting towns and cities that rely on visitors for their local economies. Vegan markets, festivals, and small independent shops miss out on trade if people like me are priced out of travelling. It is not only leisure that suffers either. High costs mean many workers face a daily battle to simply afford to get to their jobs.
And then there is the environmental angle. Rail travel is meant to be one of the greenest ways to move around the country, yet the pricing structure pushes people towards cars or even planes. I once flew within the UK because the cost of the flight was half the price of a train ticket. I felt awful about it, but as a working class person there was no way I could justify spending twice to take the train.
Over the past year I have cancelled several potential trips because the train fare was simply out of reach. Each time I have felt disappointed, not only because I missed out on the experience, but also because I know the wider consequences of people turning away from rail.
This post is not just a rant, even though I am fuming. It is also a call to think carefully about how we vote and what demands we make of the people in charge. Affordable and reliable rail transport should be a basic part of how our country functions. Without it, people are shut out of experiences, communities lose visitors, and we all lose ground on protecting the planet.
We deserve better.
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