hash tag
Reaching out
All this mularky shouldn't be necessary.
Best way to book train tickets
- Thread starter rikwakefield
- Start date
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Agreed.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
Thing is I did already do all that. I'm not a novice to the routes. I looked from Clapham, Croydon, London and the individual london terminals.
Initially Clapham didn't show me the train that I found searching from waterloo only. It is maddening. I was just looking for direct trains that were cheap. The trains existed but it was an absolute pain in the arse to find them. No idea why £300 tickets cropped up (not first class even). Later on after it showed me a £13 single I couldn't get it to replicate what I did for it to offer me a £300 open return.
I was searching National Rail Enquiries BTW. Is there a better way? I had the thing set to try and find me the cheapest but there were so many different results.
I'd love to just be able to search for the cheapest fare / no changes without having to give too much of a damn about what time I leave.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
National Rail enquiries isn't always the best. I usually start there but move to one of the train companies' own sites once I'm actually looking to buy something. They all have the same basic information but some have slightly different ways of presenting it, which can make a difference especially when you're trying to work out options for a return fare.
A couple of thoughts.
Waterloo / Clapham Junction to Salisbury would be inside network railcard zone on SWR , then could be a separate ticket from Salisbury to westbury which I think is a GWR service
Or perhaps a two together railcard would be an option?
Also I find fares seem to shoot up when you cross from one operator to another so as teuchter says to use the operator website rather than national rail enquires
Waterloo / Clapham Junction to Salisbury would be inside network railcard zone on SWR , then could be a separate ticket from Salisbury to westbury which I think is a GWR service
Or perhaps a two together railcard would be an option?
Also I find fares seem to shoot up when you cross from one operator to another so as teuchter says to use the operator website rather than national rail enquires
hash tag
Reaching out
Trainline?
www.thetrainline.com
Trainline : Search, Compare & Buy Cheap Train Tickets
Trainline, your quick & easy way to book train tickets across Europe. ✓ Save 61% on UK Rail ✓ Live Train Times ✓ Save with a Railcard ✓ Get the app
teuchter
je suis teuchter
No!Trainline?
Trainline : Search, Compare & Buy Cheap Train Tickets
Trainline, your quick & easy way to book train tickets across Europe. ✓ Save 61% on UK Rail ✓ Live Train Times ✓ Save with a Railcard ✓ Get the app
Anything but trainline. They add booking fees.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Generally speaking, prices should be exactly the same regardless of which operator's website you use.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Split Ticketing with TrainSplit | Mobile App | Save up to 90% now works quite well, and is often worth trying.
(They add a bit of commission, and you can cheat by seeing which services and tickets they propose and buying directly from one of the train operators, but for most people, if trainsplit offers you a better fare than you can find elsewhere, it's probably best to buy from them, pay the small commission and save yourself some hassle)
(They add a bit of commission, and you can cheat by seeing which services and tickets they propose and buying directly from one of the train operators, but for most people, if trainsplit offers you a better fare than you can find elsewhere, it's probably best to buy from them, pay the small commission and save yourself some hassle)
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
That's good. Ultimately it came up with the same tickets that I did, but with A LOT less messing about. They appear to be the same price too, no extra commission that I can see. The only thing it didn't do was factor that it only costs a couple of quid on oyster to go to clapham junction, but that is understandable and easy for me to factor in.
Very handy site. I would be happy to pay the commission (maybe it was only a couple of pennies or something)
Winot
I wholeheartedley agree with your viewpoint
Trainline does that automatically.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Yes, it has improved recently. It used to be, that I could often find something better myself, than what it would come up with.
Now, it's rarely the case that I can beat it. If I do, it involves a lot of messing about.
Of course, I feel pleased with myself on such occasions but for most people they should go with what it suggests.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
. . . but added 30p extra on the prices, plus I had to fanny around just as much as the national rail site to find the cheaper ticket. Adjusting times and such was much easier from trainsplit
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Are you sure?
For example, London to Perth, 19th Oct, around 4pm.
Compare ticketsplit and trainline for the connection departing at 1610.
Both are sending you on exactly the same trains (changing at Glasgow) but ticketsplit is actually selling you these tickets:
Note that the Euston to Glasgow leg has a ticket split at Lancaster: this does not mean that you change or get off at Lancaster, just that you switch between two tickets at that point.
Trainline is offering you a conventional off-peak single (more flexible, but significantly more expensive)
Now, if you want to cheat Trainsplit out of its commission you can go and buy those three tickets yourself, in which case the total would be £86.20. Or you can buy from them, they add their commisson of about £13 and you pay the £99.37.
Trainline add on a "booking fee" of £1.99 to the ticket price of £174 - but at no benefit to you, because you can buy that £174 ticket from any train operator's website without any booking fee.
Trainline is not even offering a basic ticket split - for example, if I was looking at this journey myself, I would always check what the cost would be if I bought Euston to Glasgow and Glasgow to Perth separately, and it's very likely I could find an advance ticket for each leg and it would come to less that £174.
Trainsplit goes further, because it manages to find a non-intuitive split at Lancaster, and knows that you can stay on the same train.
Inverness to London is a journey I do quite often; there is one direct train a day. Last time I was buying a ticket, I think trainsplit offered me a sequence of 4 or 5 tickets, but bought together they would cover the whole of that 8hr journey, with me staying on that same one direct train all the way. I actually didn't go for that, because it only saved me a few pounds on a more conventional ticket, and one problem with these kinds of splits is that you might be given a different reserved seat for each leg, which is obviously not ideal if the train's likely to be a busy one.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Maybe it's on their app only?
Split Tickets | Get Split Tickets with SplitSave from Trainline
Ticket splitting is a great way to save money on rail travel. Read our guide and learn more about how SplitSave works and why split tickets are cheaper.
www.thetrainline.com
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
Arrrgh I have just realised I was going to use oyster from Croydon to Clapham to make that leg of the journey cheaper, but now I have to leave the station and tap back in. Super annoying because the connecting train is just on the next platform.
hash tag
Reaching out
I did mention earlier why am oyster cannot be used for the entire journey but using the oyster for the first part of the journey and charging appropriate rate when you tap out for remainder of journey.
In this, MS jokes about the difficulty of getting around Paris, buying tickets Etc. It's worth a listen
www.bbc.co.uk
In this, MS jokes about the difficulty of getting around Paris, buying tickets Etc. It's worth a listen
Mark Steel's in Town - Series 12 - Paris - BBC Sounds
Mark Steel visits Paris in France and performs for a local audience.
www.bbc.co.uk
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
I'm sorry. I don't understand this sentence. . . but it sounds like it might be relevant to me if I did.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
I had my oyster stolen in spain about five years ago, I only have credit cards now.
hash tag
Reaching out
You should be able to use your oyster card for the entire journey.
Part of the journey should be charged at London travel card rates and the remainder of the journey charged at the appropriate non London rates.
The oyster, travel card thing is not in its infancy, it is now very old technology. It really should not be difficult to sort this out.
You can do it with a contactless card too. I had a missed tap due to a confusing configuration and got it sorted via TfL - some good advice here.
TfL charge issue
So I got off a SWR train at Waterloo, having boarded the train in East Devon. Rather than going to the gateline and to the main station concourse, I went down some stairs signposted towards the tube and seeing a ticket barrier used my contactless card :( thinking “this must be to enter the tube...
www.urban75.net
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
that would require a national joined-up system. which in most other countries would be simple...
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
i saw this How to save on UK rail fares: all the tips and tricks and thought of this thread
hash tag
Reaching out
This was really interesting and horrifying. Train fares discussed at about 35 minutes.
"Government is more interested in income rather than getting numbers on trains".
www.bbc.co.uk
"Government is more interested in income rather than getting numbers on trains".
BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Power vouchers, bookshop revival and train fares
Strikes and overcrowded and expensive trains are driving passengers back onto the roads.
ska invita
back on the other side
Hiya, long-term help needed.
I cannot get my head around train tickets. yes i can use trainline or whatever, but I often want to know the absolute rock bottom price and not be caught out.
So ive got as far as this for London non-bus journeys
www.tubecalculator.co.uk
<fantastic website, very clear. It looks like it can do busses too, but when I'm on a bus price is less an issue.
So train fares. Here's a theoretical example that includes the maximum of the problems I cannot calculate.
I want to work out what a regular commute from Gravesend to London St Pancras, 3 or 4 days a week, would cost.
This particular journey has a slow train and a fast train. It leaves in peak hours.
It returns in peak hours but can return off peak if that makes a difference in price.
The number of weekly journeys makes a full weekly or monthly rail card uneconomical.
Is there some new rail card that deals with that not full time commuting (think i heard about this in a post-covid WFH world)? How to calculate for it if it exists? What about holiday time/sick leave, does that cost through losing out on journeys?
Presumably an answer would have results for both slow and fast trains, or if there is a railcard version does it negate that?
How do additional journey costs within London fit in on top of that price?
What I would appreciate, if anyone takes this on, is to see the working out - where do you look it up and how? Screenshots would be good even but not essential
Thanks so much
I cannot get my head around train tickets. yes i can use trainline or whatever, but I often want to know the absolute rock bottom price and not be caught out.
So ive got as far as this for London non-bus journeys
OysterCalculator - The London Tube & Rail Fare Calculator | OysterCalculator
Find fares for tube, rail and bus journeys in London. Calculate Oyster card fare costs on the London Underground, DLR, TfL Rail and National Rail train services.
So train fares. Here's a theoretical example that includes the maximum of the problems I cannot calculate.
I want to work out what a regular commute from Gravesend to London St Pancras, 3 or 4 days a week, would cost.
This particular journey has a slow train and a fast train. It leaves in peak hours.
It returns in peak hours but can return off peak if that makes a difference in price.
The number of weekly journeys makes a full weekly or monthly rail card uneconomical.
Is there some new rail card that deals with that not full time commuting (think i heard about this in a post-covid WFH world)? How to calculate for it if it exists? What about holiday time/sick leave, does that cost through losing out on journeys?
Presumably an answer would have results for both slow and fast trains, or if there is a railcard version does it negate that?
How do additional journey costs within London fit in on top of that price?
What I would appreciate, if anyone takes this on, is to see the working out - where do you look it up and how? Screenshots would be good even but not essential
Thanks so much
surreybrowncap
“Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand"
Not sure if this helps - have you checked out Flexi Season Tickets?
www.thetrainline.com
Flexi Season Tickets | Buy Flexible Season Tickets | Trainline
Commuting only 2-3 times a week? Buy a Flexi Season ticket and pay only for the days you travel. You'll save money compared to buying single or return tickets.
www.thetrainline.com
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Firstly, when you say "rail card" I think you mean "season ticket". Two different things. A railcard gives you a certain % off the price of any (most) journeys you make, while a season ticket generally gives you unlimited travel on a certain number of days, for a one off price.
