Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

dzug1

Or from Edinburgh - but only as far as Birmingham

occasional_traveller

House_owner wrote: »

Well, I have now discovered that I will be able to save £23 by getting a train from Thornaby to London changing at Leeds, it adds an hour to the journey time, but still much shorter than going by coach!

You're quite right to make the comparison with the coach! I'd do the same when making a journey from Soton/Portsmouth to London & most times coach will come out top, not because it's my preferred transport, but because the competition between rail companies is not producing decent competition!
It's not just about rail - it's about all forms of transport.. With the lack of integration from a so-called government we're left to fill the gap & choose what's cheap, fast & convenient..

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Both Virgin trains and Southern are giving cashback again from thier respective links on Topcashback

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/southern-railway/
http://www.topcashback.co.uk/virgin_trains/

House_owner

occasional_traveller wrote: »

You're quite right to make the comparison with the coach! I'd do the same when making a journey from Soton/Portsmouth to London & most times coach will come out top, not because it's my preferred transport, but because the competition between rail companies is not producing decent competition!
It's not just about rail - it's about all forms of transport.. With the lack of integration from a so-called government we're left to fill the gap & choose what's cheap, fast & convenient..

I agree with you about the lack of integration, but as it happens, my train journey using the option of going via Leeds is actually going to work out cheaper than the coach - and it is shorter, so it is worth spending time to find the cheapest train tickets rather than assuming that the coach is always the cheapest way to travel

needabargin_2

can anyone find a cheapest train journey ive got it to £65 return going from

middlesbrough to york

york to birmingham new street

going the 31/3/12 return 1/4/12

Livingthedream

needabargin wrote: »

can anyone find a cheapest train journey ive got it to £65 return going from

middlesbrough to york

york to birmingham new street

going the 31/3/12 return 1/4/12

Try splitting at Manchester Piccadilly, after a quick search got the price down to £48 but you might need to work on the train times to get this price.

These are Advance fares so remember you must travel on booked trains and the minimum connection time for Manchester Piccadilly.

jumpingjackd

Hi could anyone help please. Daughter and BF are going Glasgow to London on 27 April returning on 30 April. Cheapest I can find is £141 each. Any help greatly appreciated, thanks

dzug1

Well a walk on off peak return is £121.60 each - so there's a £20 odd saving to start with. Though I don't understand where your fare comes from - it's not an officially listed one.

You can knock another £10 ish off that buy buying an off peak single out and an advance single return - still available on a couple of trains.

You can also try going onto the East Coast site and looking at fares via Edinburgh/Newcastle - might well be a bit cheaper.

Edit - a YP railcard might be worth it if they are of the right age (16-25) - it's not necessary to be a student to get one

jumpingjackd

Thanks dzug1 Ill have a look at that. I got fare from Resspottedhanky and same from East Coast site, £141 each way for both. YP railcard prob worth getting,

dzug1

Unless that £141 fare includes first class travel, it's not worth it when a flexible ticket is £20 odd less and can be bought on the day. Unless it was £141 TOTAL for two..... The way fares are displayed for more than one person can be confusing

Another avenue to try is splitting tickets in Manchester - a slightly longer journey.