Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

Livingthedream

lisae03 wrote: »

What does EMT and and FGW stand for

EMT = East Midlands Trains
FGW = First Great Western

dzug1

Don't be surprised if the cheap tickets are not released 12 weeks in advance - it's rarely exactly so. They tend to be released in batches a week at a time, though there's no exact pattern to it.

And megatrain often don't get released until about 6 weeks in advance.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/booking_horizons.html may be useful - though it too can be slow to get updated

geordieracer

lisae03 wrote: »

I thought I was being so carefull by entering all the details and then I forget the month! Its September. What does EMT and and FGW stand for? I would definately concider traveling via London if it was a half decent saving. We once travelled over night and it took 12 hours cos the tickets were half the price!

Would an example of what your saying be say Coventry to London Euston, then the tube to waterloo then mega train to Exeter?

Look into the sleeper from Paddington on one of your legs as for starters it would be fun and secondly you could probably get some bargain fares on the cov to london part as late night services are not heavily subscribed so have plentiful cheap singles.

Sorry for the abbreviations before.

link86

Iangrayson wrote: »

Has anyone been able to actual get any of these tickets? I am trying to arrange for 2 adults and 3 children to travel to London for a couple of days in July. Received the special offer flyer today from school and yet the site seems to show no availability for any of the trains that I am trying to get. Anybody know of tricks or a search technique? ???

London, woow it's so nice

bcfc1710

Looking for Bristol - Leeds saturday 17th September and back sunday 18th.

When are the cheapest tickets likely to go on sale?

Or is there a cheaper way of booking this trip??

geordieracer

bcfc1710 wrote: »

Looking for Bristol - Leeds saturday 17th September and back sunday 18th.

When are the cheapest tickets likely to go on sale?

Or is there a cheaper way of booking this trip??

The rule of thumb but not always the case is 12 weeks in advance but this will all depend on any engineering works that are booked on any part of that journey.

Your best bet to check will be cross country but also check the National rail website for upcoming engineering works to roughly plan out what is coming up.


EDIT: You may find it difficult to get an advance on the way home though as it appears crosscountry have stopped selling them on friday afternoons and sundays

Mon-Thu start of service until 09:30 no cheap advance fares anywhere on our network.
Fri – from 1200 onwards no cheap advance fares anywhere on our network.
Sat – managed based on demand for individual trains.
Sun – no cheap advance fares anywhere on our network.

balletshoes

can anyone point me in the right direction for the list of station stops on the Aberdeen to London Kings Cross trains? I've found a few £25 one way first class fares for dates which would suit, but can't find which stations the train stops at on the way? I know I've got this information before, but for the life of me I can't find it now on either East Coast or Trainline.

geordieracer

balletshoes wrote: »

can anyone point me in the right direction for the list of station stops on the Aberdeen to London Kings Cross trains? I've found a few £25 one way first class fares for dates which would suit, but can't find which stations the train stops at on the way? I know I've got this information before, but for the life of me I can't find it now on either East Coast or Trainline.

Do you want every stop that EC stop at or just the ones on the Aberdeen train? This is for the 10am departure weekdays

York [YRK] 11:52 11:53
Darlington [DAR] 12:21 12:22
Newcastle [NCL] 12:51 12:54
Berwick-upon-Tweed [BWK] 13:40 13:40
Edinburgh [EDB] 14:24 14:27
Haymarket [HYM] 14:31 14:32
Inverkeithing [INK] 14:46 14:47
Kirkcaldy [KDY] 15:03 15:04
Leuchars [LEU] 15:28 15:28
Dundee [DEE] 15:46 15:47
Arbroath [ARB] 16:04 16:05
Montrose [MTS] 16:20 16:21
Stonehaven [STN]


Just go on the NRE website and select your journey then details then you will see a show calling points link and up they will come

Gurj73

Gurj73 wrote: »

Cheers Livingthedream......I think with yours and dzug1's advice I will deffo get the London Midland ( 2hr 24min ) train or the Chiltern (2hr) trains. Just have to be ready when advance tickets go on sale. London Midland ones should only be a week away so I will be keeping a close eye next friday.

Travelling from Snow Hill or Moor Street is actually easier for me as I will be coming via Rowley Regis which feeds into those stations rather than Brum NS.

I got the £6 ticket via London Midland that takes 2hrs 16mins but gets me to London before Midday - perfect :-)

Gurj73

Next one I need help with please

I need to be in Durham from Birmingham for about 10am on Sat 3rd Sept and return either late that evening, say 7pm or the following morning.

Cheapest tickets I can find are £23 each way which is v expensive - dont know if XCT will provide cheaper tickets ?

Any one help - maybe there a way I can do it cheaper by breaking up the journey at all ?