Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

Livingthedream

miller368 wrote: »

Hi,
Wondering if anyone can help me i`m trying to find the cheapest way to do a return journey to Edinburgh from Peterborough.
I want to travel at some time during half term week and return also maybe 1-2 days later.
I`ve just brought a family and friends railcard as it will be me and 3 kids.The cheapest i seem to get is £91.90 can anybody do any cheaper.
Thanks in advance.

Without any precise dates, I can only give you some general advise. If the Peterborough half term is the same as the Edinburgh/Fife half term then its 2 weeks starting today, so;
1. Don't leave it until last moment to buy your tickets.
2. Look for advance single tickets for this week but mostly for the week after, might be cheaper. But remember you have to travel on booked trains.
3. Avoid travelling on Fridays and Sundays, Saturdays can be quite cheap.
4. For that journey buy at East Coast Website as you'll get a 10% online discount.
5. You could try splitting your journey at Newcastle, York or Doncaster.

If you want to post some dates, somebody on the forum will help more.

miller368

I was hoping to travel maybe 24th oct and return 26th.
thanks

Livingthedream

miller368 wrote: »

I was hoping to travel maybe 24th oct and return 26th.
thanks

I've had a look for those dates and I'm sorry but on the Sunday 24th all the cheap advance singles are sold out bar one which involves an overnite 4 hour change at Newcastle. :eek: Have you got any other dates?

Livingthedream

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To qualify for these extra-special fares, you need to collect four tokens from Yorkshire Weekly Newspaper Group. Tokens will appear in our newspapers from 13th Oct 2010 to 22nd Oct.

You can travel between 1st November 2010 and 17th December 2010.

NEH

Livingthedream, Scotrail released their advance tickets for just after Christmas yesterday later afternoon, so maybe yours has now too?

We just managed to get hold of tickets as reservations were selling out so fast...

Livingthedream

NEH wrote: »

Livingthedream, Scotrail released their advance tickets for just after Christmas yesterday later afternoon, so maybe yours has now too?

We just managed to get hold of tickets as reservations were selling out so fast...

Thanx for posting and Transpennine Express have released up to 7th Jan. However, they have a nice little caveat, from National rail Booking Horizons;

'Services between Manchester and Edinburgh are not open from 22 December to 3 January' :mad:

Nice and there's not many Virgin cheap advance tickets either (got one of them for the way back), looks like the Train companies forcing people to buy expensive walk on tickets for anglo-scottish routes over the busiest time for rail passengers.

miller368

Livingthedream wrote: »

I've had a look for those dates and I'm sorry but on the Sunday 24th all the cheap advance singles are sold out bar one which involves an overnite 4 hour change at Newcastle. :eek: Have you got any other dates?

Hi,
Sorry it should have been 25th -27th oct or at some point that week as long as i`m home before the 29th oct.
thanks

Livingthedream

miller368 wrote: »

Hi,
Sorry it should have been 25th -27th oct or at some point that week as long as i`m home before the 29th oct
thanks

To be honest I'm having a hard time beating the £91.50 you have quoted, I can get it down to £64 quite easy but that fare involves an overnight 4 hour change at Newcastle most days that week.

I tried splitting at York and Newcastle and that only saved a couple of quid and involved some long connection times.

Somebody else on the forum might know a route or trick to get it cheaper, sorry

NEH

Livingthedream wrote: »

Thanx for posting and Transpennine Express have released up to 7th Jan. However, they have a nice little caveat, from National rail Booking Horizons;

'Services between Manchester and Edinburgh are not open from 22 December to 3 January' :mad:

Nice and there's not many Virgin cheap advance tickets either (got one of them for the way back), looks like the Train companies forcing people to buy expensive walk on tickets for anglo-scottish routes over the busiest time for rail passengers.

are not open, does that mean they aren't running them....?

The only other way you could do it but it's a bit long winded is to go via newcastle with east coast, change at Newcastle and then take the train to Manchester from there...Still Transpennine for the last bit but you might be able to get the cheap bit with East Coast for the edinburgh part....

Livingthedream

NEH wrote: »

are not open, does that mean they aren't running them....?

Oh!!... there's Transpennine train running from Edinburgh to Manchester but no Advance tickets for those services, only full price walk on tickets.

NEH wrote: »

The only other way you could do it but it's a bit long winded is to go via newcastle with east coast, change at Newcastle and then take the train to Manchester from there...Still Transpennine for the last bit but you might be able to get the cheap bit with East Coast for the edinburgh part....

Thanx for the idea, but it now looks like Virgin have sorted out all their services for the 27th including working around Engineering works and have release some more cheap advance tickets, but have to go 'via Glasgow' to get the fare down to £11.90 (1x adult 1xchild +F&F RC) :j