Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

dzug

kathrynt wrote: »

is the advance single for us all or per person

It's for all of you - at the railcard discounted rate

EagerLearner

Hi all - what's the cheapest way to get from Brighton to London this Saturday? I have a network rail card to get a discount (I an brand new to it, never used one before). I know we want to leave at 1 or 2pm but can't guarantee time back...

dzug

EagerLearner wrote: »

Hi all - what's the cheapest way to get from Brighton to London this Saturday? I have a network rail card to get a discount (I an brand new to it, never used one before). I know we want to leave at 1 or 2pm but can't guarantee time back...

Just go to Brighton station and buy an FCC only cheap day return - £10.55 with your railcard. No need to book in advance - just turn up

nutty1

dzug wrote: »

It's for all of you - at the railcard discounted rate

HI SORRY TO BOTHER YOU AGAIN BUT WHAT WEB SITE IS THIS ON PLEASE

dzug

kathrynt wrote: »

HI SORRY TO BOTHER YOU AGAIN BUT WHAT WEB SITE IS THIS ON PLEASE

All the train websites will have these fares. Just avoid thetrainline and raileasy who will charge you fees as well.

I actually used http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ but the rest will have it as well. The cheap fares I gave are examples for a few week's time - but there isn't (AFAIK) a fares rise imminent. The only problem for you is that traveling on a Saturday the very cheapest may not be available - travelling later in the day could help.

gner_ex

dzug wrote: »

Just go to Brighton station and buy an FCC only cheap day return - £10.55 with your railcard. No need to book in advance - just turn up

Dzug, would such a ticket only allow him to go to London Bridge, or could he go through to Blackfriars also? I know theres some pretty weird restrictions with Thameslink...

If you're travelling around London, is would be cheaper to get a Brighton to East Croydon ticket (I think £8.25 with network railcard) and an all zones travelcard (£4.80 with network railcard).

dzug

gner_ex wrote: »

Dzug, would such a ticket only allow him to go to London Bridge, or could he go through to Blackfriars also? I know theres some pretty weird restrictions with Thameslink...

If you're travelling around London, is would be cheaper to get a Brighton to East Croydon ticket (I think £8.25 with network railcard) and an all zones travelcard (£4.80 with network railcard).

Yes to Blackfriars. I think (but am not 100% certain) that it would take him as far as Farringdon if he wanted but not beyond.

gner_ex

dzug wrote: »

Yes to Blackfriars. I think (but am not 100% certain) that it would take him as far as Farringdon if he wanted but not beyond.

Thanks Dzug, you're right, I've just found something I was looking for the other day.

FROM THE NORTH, London Terminals is only as far as St. Pancras

FROM THE SOUTH, London Terminals is only as far as Blackfriars

One can, however, type the other stations into a website/fast-ticket machine, and get a through ticket, this isn't just limited to the FCC Thameslink route.

Sometimes these "named destination" tickets are indeed the same price as the "London Terminals" ticket, but they are needed to get through the barriers. For example Brighton - St. Pancras FCC only is £16 (of £10.55 with network card). I believe that normal break-of-journey rules would apply (but haven't checked for the FCC only ticket).

As another example, an annual season from Letchworth (on Great Northern route) to "London Terminals" is £3060, annual to London Zone R1256 (i.e. all zones travelcard) is £4020, whereas an annual season from Letchworth to London Bridge (using Thameslink route only, not underground - unless there are failures in which case the underground could be used as a reasonable alternative route) is £3380.

sm1

tx gner_ex. One final query. The Basingstoke travel card you explained, is this valid thro all the london zones from 1- 6?

gner_ex

sm1 wrote: »

tx gner_ex. One final query. The Basingstoke travel card you explained, is this valid thro all the london zones from 1- 6?

Yes it is. If/when you get it, it will say from Basingstoke to zone R1256. Obviously valid on the buses/tubes/all national rail in those zones.