Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

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  • James21_2
    James21_2 Posts: 94 Forumite
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    Want cheap train tickets for me n my gf, i have a young persons card thing...

    Stockport(Greater Manchester) to Bangor(Wales) 1st june after 18:00 and come bak 3rd June after 13:00.


    Any tips?
    Official DFW Nerd Club - Member no.435- Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts :cool:
  • trubster
    trubster Posts: 1,116 Forumite
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    James21 wrote: »
    Want cheap train tickets for me n my gf, i have a young persons card thing...

    Stockport(Greater Manchester) to Bangor(Wales) 1st june after 18:00 and come bak 3rd June after 13:00.


    Any tips?

    TBH mate, I dont think you will get cheaper than a saver return, I looked and it was £30 for no railcard, but £20 with a railcard!!! Its valid all day both directions and you go on a set date and come back any time in a month!

    Personally I think its a bargain to say it costs more than that to go sheffield to newcastle:money:
    ORIGIN: STOCKPORT.
    DESTINATION: BANGOR (GWYNEDD)
    RAILCARD: YOUNG PERSONS RCD
    ADULTS:1 CHILDREN:0
    SVR - SAVER RETURN ATW
    00000 - ANY PERMITTED
    1 Adult @£ 20.75 = £ 20.75
    We’ve had to remove your signature because your opinion differs from ours. Please check the Forum Rules if you’re unsure why you can not have your own opinion on here and, if still unsure, email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • odds-n-sods
    odds-n-sods Posts: 864 Forumite
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    Hi All: I haven't read all the posts, and I am a train conductor, so here are my comments!

    If your ticket hasn't been stamped by the conductor for any reason, but you still have made the journey, trying to get a refund back from the train company is fraud. I know of 1 case where a man had done this for over 30 tickets; he was found out, and now is facing over 30 individual counts of fraud: 'Obtaining a service by deception' and faces £1,000 fine (minimum) + 10 years in jail on each count.

    also, on most train companies, you can't use your railcard to buy a ticket on the train and must buy a full-fare (Standard Open) ticket, or the highest priced ticket for your journey (No Cheap Day Returns) <font color=red>IF the ticket office at the station you get on is OPEN</font> If the ticket office is closed (usually at smaller stations) you may by the ticket of your choice on the train, with a railcard.

    Also, if you don't have your railcard on you, you will have to pay the difference from the price of your ticket and the full fare, so if you've bought, for example, a 7 day advance single from Leicester to Peterborough for £3.30, you'd have to pay the difference to a Standard Open Single of £16.10. Not a saving, then! And if you tell the conductor you dont have any money they can ask for your name and address + ID for an Unpaid Fares Notice, (gives you 10 days to pay) and if you refuse, that is an arrestable Offense, as is not having a Valid ticket (out-of date, ticket isn't valid for that train, or time).

    Some train companies are stricter than others: Virgin, GNER, First Capital Connect. if you have a journey booked on a specific train and would like to travel earlier, they will charge you a full price ticket. Others: Central Trains, ONe Anglia, are not as picky, but do ask the conductor before boarding, esp. in the early weekday mornings!

    Buy tickets before you get onthe train, and buy in advance, get a railcard if you are eligible, and make sure you have it on you. Also, if you are travelling in multiples of 3 or 4, ask for groupsave tickets; 34% off for 3, and 50% for 4 on certain types of tickets, but not advance ticekts!
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,289 Forumite
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    If there is a long queue at the ticket office, or for some other reason you don't want to buy your ticket before travelling, then ask permission from anyone yuo can find in railway uniform. You then have "authority to travel" and so should be able to buy the same ticket from the conductor on the train as you would have bought from the ticket office.
  • neiljc_2
    neiljc_2 Posts: 258 Forumite
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    Mother and father in law are going on a cruise on Friday.

    FIL has been to hospital and they say he cant drive for two months!

    he has to get to Southampton from Newark Northgate and GNER s cheapest appears to be saver return at £136 each:eek:

    any body got any tips on cutting this down?

    Neil
  • pompeyrich
    pompeyrich Posts: 3,135 Forumite
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    neiljc wrote: »
    Mother and father in law are going on a cruise on Friday.

    FIL has been to hospital and they say he cant drive for two months!

    he has to get to Southampton from Newark Northgate and GNER s cheapest appears to be saver return at £136 each:eek:

    any body got any tips on cutting this down?

    Neil

    What time do they have to be there? If they dont mind an early start, they could get the 06:08 Newark - Birmingham for £26:40 open return then the 09:03 MEGATRAIN from Birmingham arriving at 11:40 for £10 single. You didnt give a return date so you would have to check the Megatrain site for a suitable return journey to Brum. Also try from Nottingham as a saver return from there is only £65 plus about £8 from Newark to Notts. These fares are per person
  • AP
    AP Posts: 412 Forumite
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    James21 wrote: »
    Want cheap train tickets for me n my gf, i have a young persons card thing...

    Stockport(Greater Manchester) to Bangor(Wales) 1st june after 18:00 and come bak 3rd June after 13:00.


    Any tips?

    Stockport - Bangor: Standard Saver Return £20.75 with YP RCD

    Split ticket at Shotton - change at Chester for a train that stops at Shotton:

    Stockport - Shotton: SVR £8.25 with YP RCD
    Shotton - Bangor: SVR £9.55 with YP RCD
    Total = £17.80 - Saving £2.95 with YP RCD per person.
  • trubster
    trubster Posts: 1,116 Forumite
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    odds-n-sods wrote: »
    If your ticket hasn't been stamped by the conductor for any reason, but you still have made the journey, trying to get a refund back from the train company is fraud. I know of 1 case where a man had done this for over 30 tickets; he was found out, and now is facing over 30 individual counts of fraud: 'Obtaining a service by deception' and faces £1,000 fine (minimum) + 10 years in jail on each count.

    Ohkay, this forum in no way suggests that this should be done, it is SPLITTING TICKETS and is perfectly legal! I have a YP Railcard and use it all the time, for example, this forum is designed to tell people tips like this one I use all the time.

    DONCASTER (DON) to NEWCASTLE (NCL) SAVER RETURN (SVR) £30.75 With YOUNG PERSONS RAILCARD (YNG)

    =OR=

    DONCASTER (DON) to YORK (YRK) CHEAP DAY RETURN (CDR) £6.40 With YOUNG PERSONS RAILCARD (YNG)

    AND

    YORK (YRK) to NEWCASTLE (NCL) CHEAP DAY RETURN (CDR) £13.45 With YOUNG PERSONS RAILCARD (YNG)

    That only comes to £19.85, saving you £10.90 and you dont even have to move from your seat!

    Nowhere on this forum (That I have read) does anyone suggest getting refunds for them or trying to get away with a non existant railcard or even trying to avoid paying all together, as you rightfully stated, this IS fraud.
    We’ve had to remove your signature because your opinion differs from ours. Please check the Forum Rules if you’re unsure why you can not have your own opinion on here and, if still unsure, email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • AP
    AP Posts: 412 Forumite
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    odds-n-sods wrote: »
    Hi All: I haven't read all the posts, and I am a train conductor, so here are my comments!

    If your ticket hasn't been stamped by the conductor for any reason, but you still have made the journey, trying to get a refund back from the train company is fraud. I know of 1 case where a man had done this for over 30 tickets; he was found out, and now is facing over 30 individual counts of fraud: 'Obtaining a service by deception' and faces £1,000 fine (minimum) + 10 years in jail on each count.

    No offence mate - we are just a bunch of clever people knowing how to beat the system in the light of the forever increasing train fares. As trubster rightly says, this forum in no way suggests that this (getting refund from tickets already used) should be done. What we are trying to do are all done within the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, perfectly legal and above board.

    If you don't already know how to do this, why don't you join us and do the same?

    Of course everyone needs to have a ticket which is valid for the journey made. However, the 'From' station does not necessary have to be the one where the passenger gets on and also the 'To' station does not necessary have to be the one where the passenger gets off under certain circumstances - and money can be saved by buying tickets in this way. See my earlier post on:

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=5036692&postcount=510
  • sockospice
    sockospice Posts: 551 Forumite
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    Voyager2002 wrote: »
    If there is a long queue at the ticket office, or for some other reason you don't want to buy your ticket before travelling, then ask permission from anyone yuo can find in railway uniform. You then have "authority to travel" and so should be able to buy the same ticket from the conductor on the train as you would have bought from the ticket office.

    Interesting one. How would you prove to the conductor that you have been given 'authority to travel'?
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