Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

NickM21_2

Hi Guys, wondered if you could help me??

Me and my family need to get up North this weekend and cant get rail tickets under £119 :mad:

Going from Birmingham New Street/International - Leeds OR Bradford
2 Adults - 1 Child
Going Sat Morning/lunchtime -

Retuning Mon/Tue Afternoon/evening


Would be very grateful of any help as that knocks out a big chunk of our holiday money.

Many Thanks

Nick

wealdroam

Nickm21 wrote: »

Hi Guys, wondered if you could help me??

Me and my family need to get up North this weekend and cant get rail tickets under £119 :mad:

Going from Birmingham New Street/International - Leeds OR Bradford
2 Adults - 1 Child
Going Sat Morning/lunchtime -

Retuning Mon/Tue Afternoon/evening


Would be very grateful of any help as that knocks out a big chunk of our holiday money.

Many Thanks

Nick

Firstly, get a Family and Friends Railcard. £26.00... there may be offers around though.

Then...

Saturday...
Dep Birmingham New Street 08:03, arr Leeds 10.02. Advance Single = £29.40.
or dep Birmingham New Street 13:03, arr Leeds 15.02. Advance Single = £29.40.

Tuesday...
Dep Leeds 19:11, arr Birmingham NS 21:07. Advance Singles = £29.40.

So total inc railcard return for all three of you = £84.80.

Detail from East Coast Trains.

Livingthedream

wealdroam wrote: »

Firstly, get a Family and Friends Railcard. £26.00... there may be offers around though.

There you go, use code 'PIZZA25' for a 25% off a 1yr card, down to £19.50

Info here and Link to buy one

NickM21_2

Thanks for your help

jax.26

Hi again
Glasgow Central 1pm - Manchester Airport (23 Sep)
Manchester Airport 1pm - Glasgow Central (4th Oct)
2 Adults Return = £86

I did ask before about best train prices and was grateful for advice concerning split ticketing. I have looked into this but I would have a 2 hour wait for connecting train when travelling back to Glasgow. ( or is it the case that you should stay on the same train lol).
Is it always cheaper to book singles instead of returns?

Thanks for all help

wealdroam

jax.26 wrote: »

Hi again
Glasgow Central 1pm - Manchester Airport (23 Sep)
Manchester Airport 1pm - Glasgow Central (4th Oct)
2 Adults Return = £86

I did ask before about best train prices and was grateful for advice concerning split ticketing. I have looked into this but I would have a 2 hour wait for connecting train when travelling back to Glasgow. ( or is it the case that you should stay on the same train lol).
Is it always cheaper to book singles instead of returns?

Thanks for all help

If you buy Advance tickets, then you must travel on the booked train. If that means to get a good price you need to wait 'some time' for your connection, then that is perhaps part of the 'price' you pay for a cheap fare. You cannot 'stay on the same train' if that means you are not travelling on your booked train.

It is also wise to allow some time for the connection, as it is possible that if the first train is late you may not be able to catch the second train.

The fares are still pretty much the same as when I wrote post #2396, but be aware that as time passes the cheaper Advance tickets will/may sell out.

Generally, two singles are not usually cheaper than a return.
Usually two Advance Singles are cheaper than a return.
But beware... as you get nearer the date of travel, two Advance Singles may become more expensive than the corresponding return ticket. So do not lose sight of the return ticket price while searching for your bargain.

jax.26

wealdroam wrote: »

If you buy Advance tickets, then you must travel on the booked train. If that means to get a good price you need to wait 'some time' for your connection, then that is perhaps part of the 'price' you pay for a cheap fare. You cannot 'stay on the same train' if that means you are not travelling on your booked train.

It is also wise to allow some time for the connection, as it is possible that if the first train is late you may not be able to catch the second train.

The fares are still pretty much the same as when I wrote post #2396, but be aware that as time passes the cheaper Advance tickets will/may sell out.

Generally, two singles are not usually cheaper than a return.
Usually two Advance Singles are cheaper than a return.
But beware... as you get nearer the date of travel, two Advance Singles may become more expensive than the corresponding return ticket. So do not lose sight of the return ticket price while searching for your bargain.

Thanks again wealdroam for quick reply
:beer:

Bogof_Babe

Once again seeking advice from the experts.

I bought an Advance single a few weeks ago, to travel on Saturday 4th September, Southport to Hereford via Wigan and Crewe. (For some reason cheap tickets for that date seemed to be in short supply even a couple of months ago).

Anyway it gave me a seat reservation for the Wigan to Crewe leg, but not for the Crewe to Hereford leg. I thought this was a bit strange at the time, as I know you have to travel on the right train on these Advance tickets. The journey ticket says ISSUED AS 2 COUPONS - if it had said 3 I would have queried it at the time as I only received 2.

Anyway last week my OH decided to come up and back with me on that trip, so I booked another ticket for him. Could only get one via Liverpool South Parkway/Crewe, but from Crewe we are meant to be on the same train. The thing is, I was issued with a seat reservation on the Crewe to Hereford train with the newly booked ticket.

So I'm now worried that the originally booked ticket might not be accepted as there is no seat reservation, therefore nothing to indicate that it is the correct train. They might think I was booked on another one and have deliberately not shown the seat res. ticket, although given the "2 coupons" I would stand my ground, but I don't want to end up in a confrontation.

Does anyone know what might have happened here? I've always had seat reservations on that service in the past, and I did select to book my seat preferences, which I got for the Wigan to Crewe part but not for the Crewe to Hereford. Is the lack of a seat reservation on an Advance ticket likely to cause any problems with the ticket inspector?

I booked through www.eastcoast.co.uk by the way.

dzug1

What does your confirmation e-mail from East Coast say?

Best bet is to print that off and take it with you. It will either say no reservation (maybe a glitch in the system at the time you booked) or will list your reserved seat. In either event it should provide evidence you are on the right train.

Bogof_Babe

Oh dear, I always delete the email once I've collected the ticket. Will have a look if it is stored in my account records...

(Edited to add) I've found the order details, and sure enough there is no seat res. for Crewe to Hereford. I can't print it off as I have a new netbook and haven't been able to work out how to install my printer without a CD drive. If I keep a note of the order confirmation ref. I wonder if they could check back from that if the need arose.

Otherwise I'll have to try to rig my printer up somehow or other tomorrow.