"The last thing people want is service cuts, higher fares, and more potholes, while the executive classes are treated to gleaming new high speed trains."

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While the Government is celebrating the announcement of a new £30bn high speed railway service, charitable trust Campaign for Better Transport is questioning whether the super trains will really live up to expectations.

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The proposed 250mph bullet trains from London to Birmingham (phase two will see track extended to Leeds and Manchester) are championed by supporters in the fight against cutting carbon emissions and relieving Britain's gridlocked roads.

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But if this comes at a cost to train passengers by way of price hikes, then the high cost project could be doomed before it even begins.

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Stephen Joseph, executive director of Campaign for Better Transport, said: "The danger is that a high speed line will suck money out of the current transport network. Even with extra money on the table, there must be a strategy to get people onto rail.

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"The Government's plan is high speed rail plus business as usual.

"Fares must be cheaper than flying and driving, and high speed rail must be an alternative to new motorways and airports."

Work is not due to begin on the route until 2017, with the first stage expected to take 10 years to complete.

Public consultations are due to start in the autumn (2012 for phase two), and even then relies on a Labour win at the General Election.
But Consumerwatch thought it still a perfect opportunity to make sure that you are getting the best fares for your train travel.

In a nutshell: buy early, online, direct from the trainline operator and always check the cost of single fares against a return ticket.

As a rule, the best time to buy cheap tickets is around 12 weeks before travel. To make sure that you do not miss out on the bargains sign up to TheTrainline.com's ticket alert email system that keeps you up to date with the latest low fares.

Just because you are travelling last minute does not mean that you won't save money by booking before you arrive at the station.

Advance tickets are sometimes still available up to an hour before travel – so always check ahead.

In theory you should get the same fares online as when you book over
the phone, but if you have access to the internet it does give you more control over when and how you want to travel, so try to book yourself.

Try to cut out the middleman (and their charges) by going direct to the trainline operator.

East Coast runs services between London and Edinburgh. First TransPennine Express covers journeys – as you might assume – that cross the Pennines between Leeds and Manchester, as well as more local journeys in West Yorkshire.

For those who have yet to cotton on, it often saves to buy two singles rather than a return – especially where booking ahead and where you are able to be flexible on your times.

Using TheTrainLine.com, Consumerwatch found that someone travelling from Leeds to Liverpool on Saturday April 17, returning Sunday April 18, could travel for £17.50 by buying two singles.

The cheapest return available was £28.40.

For travel on the same dates from Leeds to London, Consumerwatch used EastCoast.co.uk and found the cheapest fare was £35.35 achieved by buying two singles.

The cheapest return ticket cost more than double at £83.70.

Also remember that senior, student, disability and family rail cards can make amazing savings for regular travellers – or those who spend more than £75 a year.

Local rail cards and season tickets are also well worth it for commuters.

But these are just some of the basic rules.

Consumerwatch also had a look at splitting journeys and shopping around.
We looked for a single ticket for one person travelling from Leeds to Edinburgh Waverley at midday on Saturday March 13, and again on Saturday April 17 (with all online price searches completed on Thursday March 11).

Travelling at short notice was almost twice as expensive as planning ahead.

TheTrainLine.com was cheaper than NationalExpress.com, and someone who was able to travel slightly later in the day could save even more money.
A single journey from Leeds to Edinburgh shortly after 12pm on March 13 cost £64.50 if booked with TheTrainLine (£69 with NationalExpress), but just £33.50 (or £35.50) if travelling after 1pm.

For those planning ahead, the same journey on April 17 cost £33.50 booking with TheTrainLine (£35.50 with NationalExpress), or just £23 for those able to travel after 1pm.

Another trick is realising that more tickets means less money.
Bizarrely you can travel the same journey – sometimes on the same train – but pay much less just by splitting your route into smaller parts and buying several single tickets for one journey.

Last Thursday Consumerwatch put the theory to the test with the last minute Edinburgh March 13 journey, outlined above, leaving Leeds at 12.07pm using TheTrainLine.com.

Leeds to Edinburgh direct single cost £64.50 with a 2hr 57min expected journey time.

A Leeds to York single ticket cost £10.40, and a York to Edinburgh ticket cost £33.50 – saving the traveller £20.60 by purchasing two tickets.

This particular journey involved one change, but also promised to shave four minutes off the travel time.

Taking the theory one step further Consumerwatch split the journey into even smaller parts: Leeds to York, York to Durham, Durham to Berwick-upon-Tweed and Berwick to Edinburgh.

Overall this journey was £24.60 cheaper, but the four train changes were perhaps not worth it for an extra £4 off the York split journey.
Please note that if you miss your connection you might find that your ticket is not valid on the next train.

Obviously this gets more risky the more connections you have to make.
But for those determined to save cash, split ticketing is also very useful for longer journeys that start in peak times but continue into the off peak period.

For example, you might catch a train from Wakefield during peak time at 9am in the week to London Kings Cross.

You should be able to travel for less by buying a second ticket from one of the stations along the route for the off peak part of the journey.

Where you can, always travel off peak (such as lunchtimes in the week and Sunday mornings), as it is much cheaper.