Best way to book train tickets
- Thread starter rikwakefield
- Start date
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
My OH went to Bristol yesterday to see friends. They live closest to Shirehampton station, which is actually a further distance than Bristol Temple Meads, and when she was looking at ticket prices earlier in the week for travel yesterday early evening, she encountered the hilarious occurrence whereby she was being quoted £38 to travel further on the network to Shirehampton, but over £80 to alight at Bristol.
Just fucking mental. It wasn’t even a case of travelling on a different, slower service. It would have been the same train to Bristol regardless of which station she wished to exit the network at.
As it happened, the connecting train would have been nearly an hour’s wait, and she saw some exit barriers were seemly not working, and just one station staff checking tickets, so she decided ‘fuck it’ and got out without any issue. If Bungle73 was still here, would have been outraged at the breach of contract.
Just fucking mental. It wasn’t even a case of travelling on a different, slower service. It would have been the same train to Bristol regardless of which station she wished to exit the network at.
As it happened, the connecting train would have been nearly an hour’s wait, and she saw some exit barriers were seemly not working, and just one station staff checking tickets, so she decided ‘fuck it’ and got out without any issue. If Bungle73 was still here, would have been outraged at the breach of contract.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Welcome to the 21st century: you have just discovered the concept of yield management, invented by airlines and now commonplace on railways throughout Europe.
I suppose you'd prefer the people of Shirehampton were denied cheap advance tickets, to make things tidier.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
I’d prefer people alighting at Bristol not to be charged twice as much for travelling fewer miles and using fewer services in their journey than those getting off at the next town down the line.
hash tag
Books, not bombs
Tomorrow, we are doing Clapham junction to Brighton. Went to ticket office to get tickets, one all the way, one part way because of a travel card. I was told there are no direct trains tomorrow and I would have to split the journey. Change at east Croydon to travel with one particular company or change at Haywards heath for travel with another company and that was for the all the way ticket. Just crazy.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
Why can't you just buy on line and do it on your phone?
Really no biggie to go one stop to Croydon on southern and switch to thameslink.
. . . But as you are obviously arriving in Brighton on the thameslink (if there are no direct trains from Clapham) you can legitimately buy the cheaper thameslink option.
Probably cheapest to use oyster (contactless) to Gatwick. Change there tap out, (or if you have a regisered card just call them up and tell them the next day). That's what I do from Croydon. Saves about £6 each as I recall.
The Haywards Heath option sounds daft.
hash tag
Books, not bombs
Had I done it online, I would probably have got a through ticket which would work as I have to use 2 separate train companies. I like using ticket offices and are happy to support them. It was on my way to the shops anyway. Besides they gave me advice on the options available.
No real problem with changing, though it would have been nice to get on train and put feet up and relax from the outset.
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
Buying from ticket machines can be twice the price of buying tickets online.
Train ticket machines charging double online price
Which? has said the best value fares are either unavailable or hidden among myriad of options.
www.bbc.co.uk
teuchter
je suis teuchter
What we should be worried about at the moment is what LNER are now trialling on their main route. My fear is that they will get away with this simply because most people are already too confused about the existing system to understand the implications of what's being piloted.
neonwilderness
What would Badgers do?
I had an email about this from LNER, but haven’t read it properly yet. Are they trying to do away with the off peak tickets? The flex fare looks like a pretty shit replacement 
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Yes they basically want to do away with off peak tickets. Leaving the expensive "anytime" ones as the only true walk-up, flexible tickets. If this were rolled out across the network it would be the end of genuinely flexible/predictably priced affordable train travel in the UK, at least for long distance travel. They want to run it like airlines do. It's a prioritisation of maximising revenue over public service/convenience.
Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
I've just booked return flights Edinburgh to London return for less than £28.00.
Well I haven't actually but I went as far as the pay now screen. That's about 20% of the train price. OK it was land at Stanstead leave from Luton, but the return flight was 19:00.
I can get a train from Waterloo for £6.10. 13:09 on 12/03/2024.
Well I haven't actually but I went as far as the pay now screen. That's about 20% of the train price. OK it was land at Stanstead leave from Luton, but the return flight was 19:00.
I can get a train from Waterloo for £6.10. 13:09 on 12/03/2024.
Last edited:
teuchter
je suis teuchter
I've made a dedicated thread about this:
The proposed removal of affordable, flexible rail tickets in the UK. Don't let them get away with it!
As of this week, LNER are "piloting" a new fare structure on their main routes (London to Newcastle and Edinburgh). TLDR: they are removing off-peak tickets and replacing them with a new kind of advance ticket with no guarantee of availability and no price cap. I've put that bit in bold...
www.urban75.net
hash tag
Books, not bombs
Not exactly ground breaking reporting
www.theguardian.com
Get a railcard and ditch season tickets: how to beat the rail fare rises
The best tips and tricks for getting the lowest possible fares in England and Wales
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
I am looking at getting return train tickets from London to Cumbria. . . . But the prices are crazy.
Even if I book in advance to go only as far as Manchester it's £70. That can't be right can it? It's only a two hour journey.
Even if I book in advance to go only as far as Manchester it's £70. That can't be right can it? It's only a two hour journey.
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
Sounds cheap, unfortunately, at £70 - the gouging twunts.
Are you using theTrainLine app?
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
I am unable (or rather can’t be arsed) to provide specific examples that anyone might wish to cross check to try to prove the claim that cheap fares are always available if you know how to search for them, but literally every single my mates and I start to plan an away game following our football team, no matter how early we look into it it is invariably in the £70s- £80s region for any journey to the north of England that involves not one of the major cities.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
National rail.
Trainline charge a fee on top. Why would anyone use them?
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
So you are saying that's the price. £70 minium for a retun to Manchester?
That means I will be paying around £140 for the cheapest return to dalton in Cumbria. That's insane.
I would littererally be going away every other weekend if it was affordable. Traveling and exploring England by train. Its like they don't want to use them or boost the uk economy.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Not exactly that. In fact I reckon with journeys between London and the likes of Manchester and other major hubs, there will always be a small proportion of cheapish fares available that are paraded by those pushing the narrative that train tickets in this country are not actually expensive if you search diligently.
I myself am talking about secondary northern destinations such as Preston, Harrogate and similar mid-sized Northern cities. Almost invariably the guy in our group in charge of booking tickets for away games reports that we’re going to be looking at £70-£80 for the shortest journey available, and even if you were prepared to take a route involving adding an extra 90 minutes to a 3-hour journey, the savings would be a pitiful £20-off the alternative.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
I was checking out Manchester fairly diligently and looking well ahead. Where am I supposed to look for these mega cheap tickets?
Preston is one of the places I was looking at. I can potentially get two two hour trains changing at Preston, but it's almost £100.
I wish there was a ferry from the isle of man to walney island. I can get an hours plane to the isle of man £50 return.
Wilf
Slouching towards Billingham
As a naive occasional rail user, that's good to know. I've been using trainline, with the logic that national rail is a private company anyway (or trading thingy for the various private rail operators). So, back to national rail it is.
By the by, apols if already discussed, I've noticed a £1 surcharge appearing on trainline if you want to collect your tickets at the ticket office). Was this there before or is it a bit of petty revenge because they've had to keep the ticket offices open?
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Don't use Trainline.
Use Trainsplit. It will find you the cheapest option which may involve splitting tickets but it'll sort that all out for you.
And you can't buy tickets from national rail. It'll direct you to one of the train operators' websites to make a purchase.
Use Trainsplit.
Use Trainsplit. It will find you the cheapest option which may involve splitting tickets but it'll sort that all out for you.
And you can't buy tickets from national rail. It'll direct you to one of the train operators' websites to make a purchase.
Use Trainsplit.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
Don't trainsplit take a percentage of the saving?
I use them to see if there is something cheaper then go to national rail to get it.
Also super easy to get delay repay if you buy direct.
Wilf
Slouching towards Billingham
Oh, yes, this thread has reminded my I need to sort a refund for a fucking horrible journey from Glasgow last week!
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
I took he family down to brighton for the marathon, was delayed one way by 15 minutes and got six quid off each ticket.
In fact, even though it's a bit cheeky, if you have a regular ticket that is not bound to a specific journey (or you don't remember) it might be worth checking Home Page - Recent Train Times which shows all the eligible delays.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
They do take a percentage (if it results from a split ticket) but if you don't want to pay it you can also buy the various legs manually from them, just like on any other retailer.
Where you buy the tickets doesn't actually make any difference to the delay repay process, in most cases.
