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I checked the German rates recently and I wish that were still true. The ticket for going between Dusseldorf and Cologne train stations with intercity or regional trains is 175 GBP (146 if you book for the whole year). The one for regional trains only but including transport within the two cities is 269 (216) GBP.

Thanks for the update. The Dusseldorf and Cologne route monthly price seems to have risen quite high.

Here are the 2022 prices for the UK. The Liverpool to Manchester route price has dropped:

- UK: Luton to London St. Pancras (35 miles) | Monthly ticket cost: £387 (2017) | £452.80 (2022)

- UK: Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly (32 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £292 (2017) | £234.70 (2022)

I can add an extra data point for a country on the continent.

Switzerland: £327 a month with an annual commitment, unlimited use of the swiss rail network, local buses/metros/trams/boats etc, with the exception of mountain tourism railways.

I pay £8 for a 13 mile (~20 minute) train ride, 3 days a week.

Quick maths:

8*3 = £24 per week

24*4 = £96 per month

96*12 = £1152 per year

Which is about 4% of my annual income.

If I would take the train everyday, it would be about 6%. On top of that I also make up about 2.5 miles by foot every single day, to save on bus fares or even worse, cabs.

A comparison of a car driver would be useful.

I used to pay £68pm for this ticket https://legacy.wmnetwork.co.uk/tickets/#/ticket/109

It's now £80 but that's unlimited train travel around Birmingham and surrounding areas (to Wolverhampton or Coventry)

That was costing me like £3 a day for my travels for one train to Birmingham and back.

It can be quite affordable.

> UK workers on average salaries will spend 14% of their income on a monthly season ticket from Luton to London (£387), or 11% from Liverpool to Manchester (£292).

these figures are deliberately misleading (well... it is the TUC)

they're using the average UK salary

not the average London or Manchester salary, which are both quite considerably higher (London is almost 100% more)

The median should probably be used - the trains are much more likely to be used by people at the lower end of the wage scale. Charles may live in London and make ungodly income, but he’s unlikely to be found on the train.

> people at the lower end of the wage scale

I don't think anyone commutes from the Home Counties to a job at Pret. People on lower income still live in London, just in not as great housing. People on the train are people who can afford the choice of a luxury of a home in a village or the countryside instead of London.

> People on the train are people who can afford the choice of a luxury of a home in a village or the countryside instead of London

And spend 3 hours a day on a hellish commute 5 days a week?

Thats not luxury, that's torture.

I do know folls on lower end salaries that commute far, its not rare.

The "Stockbroker Belt" is a thing, and Sir Humphrey used to commute in from Haslemere (if only fictionally, but I'm sure he was based on real examples).