Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

bottomburp

You could try this, from East Coast Website and per person
Wigan Wallgate to Manchester Pic Off Peak day Return £3.30
Manchester Pic to York Advance single £6.50

York to Manchester Pic Advance single $6.50
Manchester Pic to Wigan Wallgate Off Peak day Return £0 (return part of ticket)
Total Return Per Person £16.30

there's plenty of Advance singles starting from £6.50 on most saturdays thru Feb but give yourself plenty of time to catch your connection at Manchester on the way to York (30 mins)

Many thanks for the information on the advanced singles. They certainly reduce the cost of the tickets.

Bogof_Babe

Another question for all the experts on here, if you don't mind...

I'm booked to travel back from Hereford to Southport tomorrow morning, but due to a fatal rail accident on a level crossing just outside Hereford on Saturday the line is currently out of service, and buses are currently replacing trains from Hereford to Shrewsbury.

If this is still the situation tomorrow, is there any chance they would let me travel on Tuesday instead (assuming the service is back to normal then) rather than go on the bus replacement on Monday? I have an Advance ticket which I know is train specific, but as the relevant train is not running, or at least not starting from here, might Arriva Trains allow a bit of flexibility? Or even a refund so I can re-book for another day?

Narla

I thought that cheaper train tickets became available 12 weeks before travelling?

On Saturday I bought 9 tickets (£12.50 each) from Preston to London for 3 April and today I was hoping to but the tickets London to Preston for 5 April at the same price. However, looking at the site today, I am now worried that I can't buy any less than £69 to come home again. Could this be because it's going to be a Bank holiday? Or do you think they may still be offered at the cheaper rate? If so when do you think?

Advice from anyone in the know will be gratefully received!

Many thanks Narla x

Livingthedream

Narla wrote: »

I thought that cheaper train tickets became available 12 weeks before travelling?

On Saturday I bought 9 tickets (£12.50 each) from Preston to London for 3 April and today I was hoping to but the tickets London to Preston for 5 April at the same price. However, looking at the site today, I am now worried that I can't buy any less than £69 to come home again. Could this be because it's going to be a Bank holiday? Or do you think they may still be offered at the cheaper rate? If so when do you think?

Advice from anyone in the know will be gratefully received!

Many thanks Narla x

12 week on average, not an absolute rule. Use this website to help you see when the cheap advance tickets are released.

It also states that Virgin trains (who run the direct trains from Preston to London) haven't released tickets on 5th April for some reason?

dzug1

There won't not be any cheap tickets because it's a bank holiday - they still issue them then.

The delay in release may be because engineering works are planned but not finalised - that means that the trains currently shown in the timetable may not run to the same schedule and may be buses for part of the way. (Unfortunately the new National Rail site seems permanently broken as far as engineering works are concerned so I can't check if this guess is right.)

I'm sure there will be some way of avoiding that £69 fare - don't be panicked into buying it. It won't go up! Just keep checking

Narla

Yeah!

I've managed to book everyones tickets for £12.50 each way!

Thanks x

ravenjet

Hi, my son has just found out he needs to be in London for a Uni interview next week
27th Jan Travel from Penrith to Euston 10.03 and then return 28 Jan 18.30
I have been trying to split at various stations but it comes up more, the cheapest return I have got is £81.30, any suggestions.
He could get a student railcard for £23.40 which would reduce the return to £53.70 and hopefully he will use this again.
Any suggestions.
Thanks

KeithP

ravenjet wrote: »

Hi, my son has just found out he needs to be in London for a Uni interview next week
27th Jan Travel from Penrith to Euston 10.03 and then return 28 Jan 18.30
I have been trying to split at various stations but it comes up more, the cheapest return I have got is £81.30, any suggestions.
He could get a student railcard for £23.40 which would reduce the return to £53.70 and hopefully he will use this again.
Any suggestions.
Thanks

If you absolutely must travel on those trains, then I think you have probably found the best fares.

If you can be a bit flexible, maybe consider travelling via Birmingham. Very cheap fares from Birmingham to London from £5. Maybe short walk from Birmingham New Street to Birmingham Snow Hill needed.

But don't be panicked into buying that £81.30 Off Peak Return... it will still be available on the day of travel.

JohnBd

Hello. Very interesting thread, but I'm struggling to take advantage of the top tips I read.

I'm travelling from Aberdeen to London on the morning (not much flexibility here because of the length of the journey) of the 19th of February to say goodbye to a buddy who's off to NZ to live; then returning on the 21st of February. The best fare I can get is £123.50 with Raileasy (plus their charges). I've tried splitting the journey on the train company websites, but I've found it to be more expensive! Perhaps the raileasy fare is the best fare, but I thought I'd see if I'd missed anything. Any thoughts appreciated :-)

KeithP

JohnBd wrote: »

Hello. Very interesting thread, but I'm struggling to take advantage of the top tips I read.

I'm travelling from Aberdeen to London on the morning (not much flexibility here because of the length of the journey) of the 19th of February to say goodbye to a buddy who's off to NZ to live; then returning on the 21st of February. The best fare I can get is £123.50 with Raileasy (plus their charges). I've tried splitting the journey on the train company websites, but I've found it to be more expensive! Perhaps the raileasy fare is the best fare, but I thought I'd see if I'd missed anything. Any thoughts appreciated :-)

How about...
19Feb dep Aberdeen 07:42, arr London Kings Cross 14:57. Advance Single £48.50.
or dep Aberdeen 09:07, arr London Kings Cross 16:45. Advance Single £48.50.

21Feb dep London Euston 15:25, arr Aberdeen 23:33. Advance Single £37.40.

Total = £85.90.

Info from East Coast Trains website. You must book via that website to get those prices.

If you are eligible for a railcard then get one. The price will drop by a third.

Oh... and train operators do not charge the fees that Raileasy and Thetrainline do.

p.s. have you thought about flying?