Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

Bogof_Babe

A favour please - could someone re-post the link to that place that shows when the various train operators release their Advance tickets?

Got a new computer and need to add it to bookmarks. I know it's in this thread somewhere but goodness knows where.

Thanks in "advance" (lol!).

wealdroam

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

A favour please - could someone re-post the link to that place that shows when the various train operators release their Advance tickets?

Booking Horizons.

incubus72

I wonder if someone could help me please. I am looking to travel from Kirkcaldy to Exeter St Davids on Thursday 26th August,leaving after 1 p.m. So far the cheapest I have been able to find is £81.50 for a single,if anyone knows of any cheaper then please could you let me know. Thanks.

dzug1

incubus72 wrote: »

I wonder if someone could help me please. I am looking to travel from Kirkcaldy to Exeter St Davids on Thursday 26th August,leaving after 1 p.m. So far the cheapest I have been able to find is £81.50 for a single,if anyone knows of any cheaper then please could you let me know. Thanks.

£78 for a single via London on the 1300 from Kirkcaldy. Includes the Underground

Slightly cheaper than that by splitting in London as well - £49 to London on the 1300, then £25.50 on the 2045 out of Paddington, plus £2 bus fare Kings X-Paddington. That does mean an extra hour in London for the trivially cheaper fare

KeithP

incubus72 wrote: »

I wonder if someone could help me please. I am looking to travel from Kirkcaldy to Exeter St Davids on Thursday 26th August,leaving after 1 p.m. So far the cheapest I have been able to find is £81.50 for a single,if anyone knows of any cheaper then please could you let me know. Thanks.

Back in January you discovered that savings could be made by splitting in Edinburgh...

incubus72 wrote: »

I've been searching for cheap train fares for next month and I have found some shall we say "unusual" pricing differences. A single from Birmingham New Street to Kirkcaldy is over £100 and yet exactly the same journey but as a single to Edinburgh and then a single from Edinburgh to Kirkcaldy is only £44,that is a staggering difference.

Applying the same principle...
Anytime Single Kirkcaldy to Edinburgh = £6.30.
Advance Single dep Edinburgh 14:56, arr Exeter St.D 21:46 = £56.00.

Total = £62.30.

Edited to add:
As both trains stop at Haymarket, it might be a good idea to change there and get a few extra minutes for the change. Buy your Advance ticket from there too.

incubus72

KeithP wrote: »

Back in January you discovered that savings could be made by splitting in Edinburgh...

Applying the same principle...
Anytime Single Kirkcaldy to Edinburgh = £6.30.
Advance Single dep Edinburgh 14:56, arr Exeter St.D 21:46 = £56.00.

Total = £62.30.

Edited to add:
As both trains stop at Haymarket, it might be a good idea to change there and get a few extra minutes for the change. Buy your Advance ticket from there too.

To be honest Keith I had entirely forgotten that I had even posted that,thanks for pointing it out and thanks for pointing out the cheaper tickets for me.

_gl

A followup to my earlier Megatrains post, where I found that they suddenly took bookings for at least 3 years ahead.

I emailed them about it (and the scarce Nottingham->London timeslots) twice, but they never bothered answering me once (charming). At least in the past they did reply (eventually).

I just checked the site though, and they seem to have gone back to their 1.5 months-ahead limit again - I bet this was just a bug introduced by their new site design. I wonder if they'll honour tickets booked outside that window though - I'd be seriously !!!!ed if they turn me away for a journey I booked later this year.

Obviously no point in emailing them, and their phone line doesn't know anything (they tell you to, yep, email them). Anybody got a good contact at Megatrains to clear this up?

rich_shot2003

_gl wrote: »

A followup to my earlier Megatrains post, where I found that they suddenly took bookings for at least 3 years ahead.

I emailed them about it (and the scarce Nottingham->London timeslots) twice, but they never bothered answering me once (charming). At least in the past they did reply (eventually).

I just checked the site though, and they seem to have gone back to their 1.5 months-ahead limit again - I bet this was just a bug introduced by their new site design. I wonder if they'll honour tickets booked outside that window though - I'd be seriously !!!!ed if they turn me away for a journey I booked later this year.

Obviously no point in emailing them, and their phone line doesn't know anything (they tell you to, yep, email them). Anybody got a good contact at Megatrains to clear this up?

I have never had any problems with e mails to Megabus but since they have put there new website up they have never replyed to e mails i have sent them and they are never that helpful if i call them.

Tickets are on sale till Oct at the Moment and tickets for after Oct 3rd should go on sale start of Sept.

incubus72

KeithP wrote: »

Back in January you discovered that savings could be made by splitting in Edinburgh...

Applying the same principle...
Anytime Single Kirkcaldy to Edinburgh = £6.30.
Advance Single dep Edinburgh 14:56, arr Exeter St.D 21:46 = £56.00.

Total = £62.30.

Edited to add:
As both trains stop at Haymarket, it might be a good idea to change there and get a few extra minutes for the change. Buy your Advance ticket from there too.

Just to follow up,I have managed to get the tickets for a total of £49.30,for anyone need cheap train travel it is definately worth checking out thetrainline.com's cheap fare finder as it has saved me a fortune on my trip.

Saint_Nick

Trying to find the best fares for 2 adults from Carlisle to London on the 10th Oct early morning and returning the next day (11th Oct) at lunchtime. Can get around £72 going but coming back is more expensive unless I break up the journey. What is best to do?