Any train company booking lines open Saturday evening (now)

bitsandpieces

I'm looking to book a train ticket for tomorrow; are any of the train company's booking lines going to be open now? Would book online - but journey is a bit complex, so need to speak to a human...

dacouch

No I doubt it, they will be open tommorow.

The websites are pretty good and are often better than actually speaking to someone

andyrules

Try the national rail site - not fantastic, but they will be open. Or post it up, there are some experts on here.

bitsandpieces

Thanks. Need to get a via London ticket, but spending a few hours in London each way. The systems on virgin and NXEC sites assume that you'll be going straight through London - unless there is a workaround? If not, think I'll just speak to a human at the station tomorrow - so I can at least get seat reservations for the return trip...

It a work trip, and needs to be a flexible ticket - I've got a couple of meetings where I don't determine end times - so it's not an issue of booking an advance ticket. Would just have been convenient to sort it out now, rather than in the morning.

dacouch

Why not get a return to london or even a travel card and then a return from london to where you are going. You should be able to price that up on the trainline. Alternatively if you get a return and it involves getting accross london to a different station the time difference is not normally a problem as they are sort of open

omelette451

bitsandpieces wrote: »

Need to get a via London ticket, but spending a few hours in London each way. The systems on virgin and NXEC sites assume that you'll be going straight through London - unless there is a workaround? If not, think I'll just speak to a human at the station tomorrow - so I can at least get seat reservations for the return trip...

It a work trip, and needs to be a flexible ticket

If it's a flexible ticket you don't need to book it now, you can just get it on the day of travel. They can do you a seat reservation for the return part then if you want one. Alternatively yes there is a 'workaround' online - if it's a flexible ticket you don't have to travel on the train you've reserved so just buy it anyway; in any case the nxec website doesn't actually issue seat reservations for flexible tickets unless you ask it to. If you have to transfer between stations in London no one will know how long you spent doing it, so you'll be fine to spend a couple of hours there. One word of warning though: train tickets via London are valid on the tube but only for reasonable journeys according to the ticket held; if you want to divert somewhere else you have to buy a separate tube ticket or use an oyster card. (For example, a Manchester-Brighton ticket would be valid Euston to Victoria, London Bridge or Blackfriars, but not to Oxford Street.)

To be honest I don't see any of the 'humans' on any of the booking lines understanding what you want and being able to help you any more than a booking website would.

bitsandpieces

dacouch wrote: »

Why not get a return to london or even a travel card and then a return from london to where you are going. You should be able to price that up on the trainline. Alternatively if you get a return and it involves getting accross london to a different station the time difference is not normally a problem as they are sort of open

Thanks - but getting a via London ticket is cheaper than getting two separate returns Yes, in London you can break the journey that day, or even overnight, on some tickets (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/offpeak_conditions.html). But the trainline website won't let me reserve seats like that

If I order online - with reservations - anyone know if I can change the return reservation subsequently (would to reserve a seat on the first train you can use off peak tickets on - in case I need make that one - as it tends to get busy...)? Or I could, of course, just sort out tickets at the station tomorrow.

bitsandpieces

omelette451 wrote: »

To be honest I don't see any of the 'humans' on any of the booking lines understanding what you want and being able to help you any more than a booking website would.

Thanks - I have an oyster card for the diversions...

LOL - fair enough re 'humans'. Maybe best to sort reservations at the station - hopefully more human there

omelette451

bitsandpieces wrote: »

If I order online - with reservations - anyone know if I can change the return reservation subsequently (would to reserve a seat on the first train you can use off peak tickets on - in case I need make that one - as it tends to get busy...)? Or I could, of course, just sort out tickets at the station tomorrow.

Any staffed station can change a reservation (for free) if the service is still 'open' for new reservations (generally up to three hours before the train leaves its original station). You can't have more than one for the same ticket, however, so you'd have to take the existing one so it can be cancelled. Similarly, if you book one now without a reservation and later decide you want one any ticket office will give you one. However, you should remember that all services have at least some seats left unreserved (if they don't it has to be marked "reservation compulsory" in the timetable, which is rare nowadays), so you may find it easier to ask someone where these are and head straight for them.

bitsandpieces

Thanks. For some reason thetrainline has decided that "the departure station does not offer a collection facility" (it does), so I can't book online. Think I'll take that as a sign, and speak to a human at a more sensible hour.

It's shocking how much lousy web design is tolerated, even on big websites...

omelette451

bitsandpieces wrote: »

It's shocking how much lousy web design is tolerated, even on big websites...

...Hence why those of us on the know always use the nxec site