Over the scheduled holiday periods in the academic year, Jesmond often sees what can be described as an exodus of students who opt to go home.

For many students in Jesmond, Newcastle is not their place of permanent residence meaning that they have to use various methods to get home for the break. This Christmas period was no different, with many students from both Newcastle University and Northumbria University travelling home in December and making a return this month as the new semester starts.

Despite this regular travel of students to and from Newcastle, there have been many obstacles they have had to adapt to.

For most people, the quickest and most convenient mode of transport from Newcastle was the train. The Office of Rail and Road reported a 14% increase in passenger journeys when comparing the latest monthly quarter (July- September 2023) to the previous monthly quarter (July- September 2022). Despite this increase in passenger journeys, it has been a tough year for those who travel by train.

There has been a huge amount of disruption to train services due to industrial action carried out by the RMT union over pay disputes, as well as complaints of frequent delays and cancellations leading to passenger satisfaction reaching an all time low in January 2023, according to Transport Focus. While passenger satisfaction has since seen a steady increase, another issue arose: the cost of train journeys.

In March 2023, rail fares increased by 5.7% and in December, the Department for Transport announced that this will increase again by 4.9%, taking effect on 3rd March 2024.

Because of the unpredictable nature of current rail systems, students find themselves grappling with the uncertainty of travel and with the reality that accessing affordable and reliable train services to travel in and out of Newcastle has become increasingly difficult. Paired with the ongoing cost of living crisis, students are having to stretch their already tight budgets to accommodate the rising costs.

“[Rising train fares] made it difficult to budget for food, bills et cetera,” said Caitlin Stringfellow, 21. “I try to make less trips home because of the price of the tickets, but I still do travel quite a bit, so I try to get tickets further in advance to see if they will be cheaper”.

Phoebe Flowers, 21, told JesmondLocal that the cost of a journey determines which mode of transport she chooses to take. “If the train is around £30 even with a railcard, I will just get the coach instead for around £10”, she said. “The train was never a cheap option. It’s more convenient, but now the cost outweighs convenience”.

Students have had to find cheaper travel alternatives in the midst of increasing rail fares. For many, a much cheaper alternative to trains is the coach. When comparing the prices of a train and coach journey to London from Newcastle via Trainline, the average train journey would cost £60 while the average coach journey would cost roughly £11.90; a difference of £48.10.

Coach companies have started to take advantage of their new student demographic opting to take the coach instead of the train. “Soaring costs and disruption for rail users has driven demand for National Express coaches, placing us as a reliable and value for money proposition when it comes to travel,” a National Express spokesperson told JesmondLocal. The company said that demand for coach services across the country increased by 33% compared to 2022.

The spokesperson added: “The rail strikes have been an opportunity for us to attract a whole new set of customers – with 40% of customers new to us. If we look at our new customers who booked with us during rail strikes, we’ve seen 12% of them come back and book again on a non-rail strike day”.

Although coach journeys are often much longer, less direct and less frequent – depending on where one lives – its growth in popularity over the last year may reflect changing attitudes to how people choose to travel long distances in the UK.

“It’s usually a lot cheaper and if I can get a direct coach then I’d usually choose that,” Stringfellow explained. “It’s definitely been helpful visiting people when train prices have gone up especially around Christmastime.”

Flowers on the other hand prefers to use the coach only when the trains are too expensive to use, however she prefers train journeys more. “The train is much more enjoyable because the journey is quicker and it’s a more comfortable travelling environment”, she said. “The coach takes much longer, there’s less foot room, the station is a lot further, for me it’s just a less enjoyable experience”.

In order to cater to the growing student passenger base, National Express have schemes put in place to make long distance travel more affordable.

“We recognise that travel plays a significant role in students’ lives and can be one of the largest expenses after household bills and groceries”, the spokesperson told JesmondLocal. “Our National Express Young Persons Coachcard provides a third off all standard and fully flexible fares, £15 day return anywhere in the UK (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) and 15% off travel to events and festivals, all for just £15 a year or £35 for three years, offering even greater value during the entire time at university”.

For students, the cost of travelling has become a huge expense that they have had to work around, however, with many transport options available (such as the coach or the plane) the increasing rail fares may not be something they have to worry about.

For more information about the Young People’s Coachcard, visit this web page.

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group told JesmondLocal: “The rail industry is working hard to ensure that train services are reliable and punctual for passengers. This includes significant investment to improve infrastructure and train reliability.

“Unfortunately, the railway is still facing a significant financial challenge with revenue down on pre-pandemic levels while simultaneously facing unprecedented changes in customer travel patterns. That is why we want to reach a fair agreement with the Aslef leadership which will get more trains running on time and put the railway on a sustainable footing.

They added: “In setting the fares level, the government needs to balance the needs of taxpayers against those of customers. Customers can purchase travel at current prices if they buy their tickets on or before 2nd March.

“Our focus remains on delivering a more reliable and sustainable service that meets our customers’ needs and enhances their overall experience contributing to a more seamless journey on the rail network.”