New Research by rail union RMT has found that French, Italian and Spanish lovers using high speed rail for a romantic city break will pay 245% less in rail fares than their UK counterparts.

Figures also show that whilst in the UK there has been a 20% increase in cost of using high speed rail (London to Paris) in the last three years, the cost of using of publicly owned European high speed rail is falling and by up to 37% in some instances.

The research also found that even when couples book in advance the cost of the UK’s privatised railway on Valentine’s Day means it’s cheaper for couples to fly instead to the Canary Islands, Barcelona or Bilbao than use the train for a romantic getaway to the Lake District, Edinburgh or the West Country.

The report goes on to show that when measured by cost per kilometre, it is eight times cheaper for a couple to fly London to New York than it is to get the train to Edinburgh or the Scottish Highlands.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“Even on Valentines’ Day the greedy UK train operators are still at it – there’s not much love in the air for those forced to pay two and half times more for a romantic break compared to other parts of Europe. The great rail fares rip-off here in Britain never takes a day off from bleeding passengers dry.

“Instead of breaking our hearts, RMT is calling once again for the fragments of Britain’s railways to be bonded back together in one publicly-owned, publicly-run service freed from the exploitation that two decades of privatisation has brought to the network.”

RMT members will be joined at Liverpool Street Station at 7am on Valentines’ Day (Thursday 14th February) by General Secretary Bob Crow where they will unveil a giant card and hand out chocolates to commuters while two fat-cats from the train companies look on in disgust.