Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

AirlieBird

johncas1 wrote: »

The fare on trainline qjump and the train operators site are all the same no site will have any fares cheaper than another one national rail set fares and thats what the sites have to sell tickets at.

Generally true, except some train operators offer a discount off Advance tickets for travel on their trains which is why it's usually best to purchase tickets from the train operator you'll be travelling with.

KeithP

johncas1 wrote: »

The fare on trainline qjump and the train operators site are all the same no site will have any fares cheaper than another one national rail set fares and thats what the sites have to sell tickets at.

Train operators do do advance fares like East Midlands do Leicester to London for £12 each way thats £24 return but you have to book in advance and it's first come first serve the cheap fares are released 3months in advance and go fast to book late anhttp://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/newreply.html?do=newreply&p=24335263d there all gone and it's expensive all the Business man book up the cheap tickets during the week and the Tourists at weekend

Is this a response to my two posts just in front of it?
The reason I stated "use the NXEC website" was because in both cases NXEC were offering a 10% discount on their Advance Singles.

Of course we should also remember that The Trainline, Qjump and some other sites make a charge for lots of things.
Here is a list of Qjump's charges (from their website)...

The following charges have been introduced:
• £0.50 debit card fee
• £2.50 credit card fee
• £1.00 for postal deliveries
• £0.50 for Self Service Ticket Machine collection
• £0.50 for Window collection

These charges are generally not made by the train operating companies.

Luisa1981

Keith P is right! I am a PA at a charity so spend lots of my time trying to get the cheapest fare possible for my managers. Trainline etc ALWAYS get you with extra charges at the end, which can sometimes add up to £4 to a fare. Which is quite a lot.

By far and away the cheapest way is to go directly via the train companies themselves. When booking over the phone, make sure YOU know what the cheapest fare is (all of these on the National Rail website) so if they offer you anything more expensive, you can request the ticket you want...

:-)

chappy

Hi all,

Which is the cheapest way to travel from Hatfield, Hertford to London Kings Cross (is this the station best located for sight seeing?) sorry not been to London for many a year

Our hotel is only a few minutes away from Hatfield station so train would be better.

We are going down for the weekend, early October and want to spend Friday and Saturday sight seeing round London.

I have had a look at National Rail and the cheapest is £20 each return, per journey is this a fair price to be paying, I know it's still a long way off, however they say book early for cheaper fares or is this not always the case?

Any suggestions would be really appreciated

Thanks
Jayne

KeithP

chappy wrote: »

Hi all,

Which is the cheapest way to travel from Hatfield, Hertford to London Kings Cross (is this the station best located for sight seeing?) sorry not been to London for many a year

Our hotel is only a few minutes away from Hatfield station so train would be better.

We are going down for the weekend, early October and want to spend Friday and Saturday sight seeing round London.

I have had a look at National Rail and the cheapest is £20 each return, per journey is this a fair price to be paying, I know it's still a long way off, however they say book early for cheaper fares or is this not always the case?

Any suggestions would be really appreciated

Thanks
Jayne

£20.00 is too high.
An Anytime Day Single is £7.90, so a return, valid on any train, is £15.80 per person.
There are no Advance Tickets for this journey.
This a walkup fare... no need to book in advance.

miller

chappy wrote: »

Hi all,
Which is the cheapest way to travel from Hatfield, Hertford to London Kings Cross ...
I have had a look at National Rail and the cheapest is £20 each return, per journey

The cheap day return (sorry off-peak day return as its now known) is exactly £10 per person. Sounds like you have been quoted for 2 there.

KeithP

miller wrote: »

The cheap day return (sorry off-peak day return as its now known) is exactly £10 per person. Sounds like you have been quoted for 2 there.

Oh, I see it now!

I read Chappy's post to mean they were going to London from Hatfield, spend Friday and Saturday sightseeing and then return to Hatfield.
But if they're doing day trips to London from Hatfield, then you are of course correct.

In fact, building on that, a SuperOffPeakReturn is only £7.50 and valid all day on Saturday (and Sunday).

shopndrop

I have been looking at day return train fares to travel from Liverpool Lime Street to Birmingham International on 25 November but the best price I can find is £58 return, nothing is coming up for single fares. Does anyone know if I can do it any cheaper? There will be 3 adults travelling but at this price it would be cheaper to take the car.

KeithP

You are a bit too early for cheap tickets, shopndrop.

The ATOC Booking Horizons page will tell you when they are available for a particular train operator.

shopndrop

Thanks KeithP, don't use the train very often just know from reading MSE that you need to book early. Hadn't realised that I might be "too early". Will hold on for now and check again in a couple of weeks. Your help is really appreciated. Thank you.

Where can I find an update of the ATOC Booking Horizons page in a week or two?