Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

northernstar5

Does anyone know the details of the £5 return ticket between Scarborough and Hull? I've tried the Northern Rail web page - but can't find it. i know it exists but not the conditions or how long it's available for.

KeithP

northernstar5 wrote: »

Does anyone know the details of the £5 return ticket between Scarborough and Hull? I've tried the Northern Rail web page - but can't find it. i know it exists but not the conditions or how long it's available for.

Did you perhaps mean the Yorkshire Coast Day Ranger?

Only thing is its £15.00, so maybe not what you are looking for.

Edited to add...
But an Off Peak Day Return is only £14.10.
And an AnyTime Day Return is only £14.70.

northernstar5

KeithP wrote: »

Did you perhaps mean the Yorkshire Coast Day Ranger?

Only thing is its £15.00, so maybe not what you are looking for.

Edited to add...
But an Off Peak Day Return is only £14.10.
And an AnyTime Day Return is only £14.70.

I've tracked it down now - got an email reply from Northern Rail(see below) No sign of it on their web site though. Strange!

"Senior Offer
£5.00 flat fare day return
Available as follows;
* To anyone 55 years old or over (proof of age required, either a passport, birth
certificate, senior railcard or concessionary bus pass).
* Mondays to Fridays only - outward any train timed to depart from 0930, return
any time the same day, but not valid to return from Manchester
Stations(Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Victoria or Deansgate) and MetroCentre or
Newcastle between 1601 - 1759 inclusive.
* Valid between any two stations on routes stated.
* Not available weekends.
* No railcard discounts permitted.
* Offer runs from Monday 28 September"

John89001

northernstar5 wrote: »

No sign of it on their web site though.

At last! Info on Northern's Over 55 Offer has now appeared on their web site at http://www.northernrail.org/offers/Over+55s+flat+fare+offer

It is a £5 day return on any of 3 routes:
Carlisle - Newcastle
Hull - Scarborough
Manchester - Southport.
Available until 13 November.

John

geordieracer

John89001 wrote: »

At last! Info on Northern's Over 55 Offer has now appeared on their web site at http://www.northernrail.org/offers/Over+55s+flat+fare+offer

It is a £5 day return on any of 3 routes:
Carlisle - Newcastle
Hull - Scarborough
Manchester - Southport.
Available until 13 November.

John

thats excellent value!!

Bogof_Babe

Question for Keith or Dzug, or anyone else who knows...

On Countdown last week Martin was guesting, and did a quick briefing re. saving money on rail travel. One thing he said (or implied) was that it is even worth phoning the ticket provider (I assume train operator not railway station) on your way to the station, to get a cheaper ticket.

From comments on here I understood you had to book at least 24 hours in advance to benefit from any discounted fares. Does anyone know what Martin meant?

jamesbrownontheroad

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Question for Keith or Dzug, or anyone else who knows...

On Countdown last week Martin was guesting, and did a quick briefing re. saving money on rail travel. One thing he said (or implied) was that it is even worth phoning the ticket provider (I assume train operator not railway station) on your way to the station, to get a cheaper ticket.

From comments on here I understood you had to book at least 24 hours in advance to benefit from any discounted fares. Does anyone know what Martin meant?

'Advance' fares (like Off-Peak or Anytime) are available right up until the day of travel. Although they almost always sell out, it is always worth checking to see if any are left on the day of travel. A station ticket agent may not be inclined to tell you if any are, so calling or checking online is a last way of double checking.

Similarly, when 'Advance' tickets start to sell out on more popular intercity trains, it is often worth checking first class as well as standard class. Many people will search for the cheapest available standard class 'Advance' fare only. As the progressively more expensive quota-controlled fares sell out, you might find that there are cheaper 'Advance' fares left in first class than in standard!

dzug1

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Question for Keith or Dzug, or anyone else who knows...

On Countdown last week Martin was guesting, and did a quick briefing re. saving money on rail travel. One thing he said (or implied) was that it is even worth phoning the ticket provider (I assume train operator not railway station) on your way to the station, to get a cheaper ticket.

From comments on here I understood you had to book at least 24 hours in advance to benefit from any discounted fares. Does anyone know what Martin meant?

I don't know what he meant and don't believe it's true - at least I can't think of any instances where it applies. But ICABW.

Advance tickets officially cut off at 1800 the day before travel though I have seen unconfirmed reports that it's sometimes possible to book a little later. Often they are sold out well before then of course - but not always.

With all due respect - Martin is a journalist, and a very good one. But that does mean stories and facts get simplified, dumbed down, etc, to reach the 50% of the population that is (by definition) thicker than average.

KeithP

dzug1 wrote: »

Advance tickets officially cut off at 1800 the day before travel...

This was always my understanding, I've just looked at the National Rail Enquiries website and now cannot find the 18:00 cutoff mentioned.

The only thing I found was...

Availability (of Advance Tickets)
Tickets must be purchased in advance of travel, subject to availability. Book as far in advance as possible to get the cheapest fares.

AirlieBird

dzug1 wrote: »

Advance tickets officially cut off at 1800 the day before travel

No, they don't. Advance tickets are available to the end of the day. For example, now (at 1934) you can still purchase Advance tickets for travel tomorrow. Advance tickets are not available on the day of travel.