Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

yorkie2

studysep wrote: »

Can the card be used for oyster card discounts too?

No, the discount cannot be loaded onto an Oyster card. You could, instead, purchase a One Day Travelcard (on paper) at the Railcard discounted rate.

matt_james27

Hi,

slightly confused by rail journey terms, I am looking to get an Off-peak return ticket from London St. Pancras to Luton Station.

The tickets rules say:

Any off-peak train. Return within 1 month.
This ticket allows travel on any permitted route.

Does this mean I can use any off-peak train even though when purchasing the ticket online it makes me select a specific train for both journeys

Also, can I start my journey at Luton Airport Parkway station for my return journey? It is on the same route:

http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/static/pdf/network_route_map.pdf

Many Thanks!

dzug1

Yes to both questions

matt_james27

thanks really appreciate the quick reply

alexlindley

Hi Everyone,

Hoping you can help me out as I'm not a train regular and I'm hoping I'm not going to be stuck paying full fare for my stag do to Edinburgh from Sheffield.

Tickets have just come up on the trainline today and they're around £105/adult which almost doubles the cost of the weekend!! Singles don't seem to be much better at around £50 each way.

We're going on Friday 22nd June around 10/11am and coming back Sunday afternoon, 24th. I'm hoping there is something I can do to find cheaper tickets as this is a massive cost!

There will be 6/8 (adults) of us on the train and I've looked at flights and thats about £85 each at the moment, at rubbish times and we'd have to get to the airport too.

Does anyone have any ideas on how we could get the cost down? They would be much appreciated..

Thanks,
Alex

dzug1

You could try Doncaster rather than Sheffield - but note the cheap tickets for the Sunday are not out yet. Singles on the Friday are £29.50 plus £4.30 to get to Doncaster

wealdroam

alexlindley wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

Hoping you can help me out as I'm not a train regular and I'm hoping I'm not going to be stuck paying full fare for my stag do to Edinburgh from Sheffield.

Tickets have just come up on the trainline today and they're around £105/adult which almost doubles the cost of the weekend!! Singles don't seem to be much better at around £50 each way.

We're going on Friday 22nd June around 10/11am and coming back Sunday afternoon, 24th. I'm hoping there is something I can do to find cheaper tickets as this is a massive cost!

There will be 6/8 (adults) of us on the train and I've looked at flights and thats about £85 each at the moment, at rubbish times and we'd have to get to the airport too.

Does anyone have any ideas on how we could get the cost down? They would be much appreciated..

Thanks,
Alex

To build on Dzug's post...

East Coast Trains are offering a third off their Advance Single tickets for groups of three or more.
So Advance Singles are currently available on the outward leg from Doncaster to Edinburgh at £19.45 for each member of your party.
Book these tickets via this link.

If we assume that Advance Singles do become available on the Sunday at the same price, then the total return fare for each person, including the Sheffield - Doncaster Anytime Singles, becomes £46.70.

alexlindley

wealdroam wrote: »

To build on Dzug's post...

Easy Coast Trains are offering a third off their Advance Single tickets for groups of three or more.
So Advance Singles are currently available on the outward leg from Doncaster to Edinburgh at £19.45 for each member of your party.
Book these tickets via .

If we assume that Advance Singles do become available on the Sunday at the same price, then the total return fare for each person, including the Sheffield - Doncaster Anytime Singles, becomes £46.70.

Thanks dzug and wealdroam especially for the group booking thing!! Appreciate your help.

That price is amazing, hopefully the prices for the Sunday when they come out will be as good as the Friday.

Cheers,
alex

daveb80

Hi all,

I was wondering if I could get some advice on trying to cut my train ticket costs.

Currently I am paying £540 per month to travel from Southampton to Waterloo with underground on the ticket too. For the underground I only need zone 1 as I just go from Waterloo to Bank each day, but I just get the Southampton - London zones 1-6 as I don't know if you can just get underground zone 1 on the same ticket?

Is there any other way to make this journey any cheaper at all? I'm reluctant to get a yearly ticket as I may end up moving at anytime.
I looked at using my oyster card for just the underground and buy the train seperately but it actually works out more expensive.

Any advice ideas greatly appreciated! These costs are really beginning to frustrate me, especially considering I have to stand up a lot of the way home most nights! haha

dzug1

The only ways I can think of involve extending your journey time:

Southern trains (which go to Victoria) have cheaper fares but take an hour longer each way

Bus from Waterloo to Bank would be cheaper than the drain. About 20 mins longer each way.

Walking would also save - takes about the same as the bus apparently

a 4th - Boris Bike. Not sure of the costs though