Your 2006 ticket to Edinburgh would only get you as far as Doncaster today

THE cost of a train ticket from London to Edinburgh 10 years ago is likely to get you only as far as Doncaster today.
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Annual increases in rail fares have pushed up prices to such an extent that the cost of travelling all the way along the East Coast main line in 2006 would get you less than half of the distance now.

The latest data on annual fare increases has been used to calculate the relative change in the cost of a long-distance journey.

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When taking into account next year’s projected rise for regulated fares of 1.9%, a 2006 ticket to Edinburgh would be worth around 67% of its original value.

The great East Coast shrinking rail journeyThe great East Coast shrinking rail journey
The great East Coast shrinking rail journey

This would cover just over a third of the journey time from London, leaving you stranded just short of York.

The rate of fare increases has slowed in recent years, however.

Your 2006 ticket would have got you only as far as Newcastle in 2007 and York in 2011. But since then the pace of the rise in prices has dropped, meaning Doncaster - roughly 30 miles from York - would be the current end of the line.