&gt;  An example: a 2 hour train journey from London to Manchester (approx 200 miles&#x2F;321 km) one-way booked for a peak-time slot a week in advance can cost as much as £166 (approx €217 &#x2F; $235), which is frankly ludicrous.<p>If you want a return then it&#x27;s double, too, unlike many journeys where the return adds 10p to the cost. If there are two of you, it&#x27;s actually cheaper to get a <i>taxi</i> (quotes from £250-300 each way).<p>However, one thing to point out is that the £166 price is not an advance fare, that&#x27;s the anytime ticket. You may have reserved a seat on a particular train but you can travel on any of them (outward journeys on the same day only). Off-peak advance fares go down to about £25 each way.