Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

wealdroam

terryw wrote: »

I will make a point of using Southern for all tickets now with the cashback bonus.

That's a good idea, but remember their moneyback guarantee doesn't cover other train operating company's Advance Single tickets.

A small point, but you are certainly no worse off by using them.

thelawnet

mcphail wrote: »

It is on a Sunday - thanks:o

Ok, in that case you want a Three Bridges - London z1-6 super-off-peak FCC-only travelcard.

£10. Valid from Gatwick.

No point in paying £12.50 for a Gatwick - London ticket when the Three Bridges one is just as valid....

miller

terryw wrote: »

I will make a point of using Southern for all tickets now with the cashback bonus.

I'd say its a good "default" starting choice and knocks the t****line into a cocked hat. Especially for shorter journeys where advances etc. are not available.

A second port of call IMO is the website of the TOC setting the fare in case there are any specific discounts available (https://www.brfares.com can be used to check or the map here is useful as a guide http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/maps/nationalrailoperatorsmap.pdf).

lea_t88

Hello and firstly apologies if this is in the wrong place,

As of Thursday I'm going to be commuting via train. The train is Manchester to Leeds leaving MCO at 08.06 and getting into Leeds at 09.09.

To buy this ticket in advance it is £6.25 with my railcard.

The train's first stop is Stalybridge where I could also get on. HOWEVER, to get a ticket Stalybridge to Leeds on this same train costs £12.

Am I able to buy the ticke Manchester - Leeds and just get on te train at Stalybridge? I would have thought so as I'm not doing any extra travelling for 'free' I'm actually doing less than I paid for.

Is there any rule which says I must get on the train at the station specified?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

p00hsticks

lea_t88 wrote: »

To buy this ticket in advance it is £6.25 with my railcard.

Sorry, can't answer your question, but are you sure you will be able to use your railcard ? You don't say what sort of railcard it is, but if it's a 16-25 one there's a £12 minimum fare during the weekday morning peak

redux

lea_t88 wrote: »

Is there any rule which says I must get on the train at the station specified?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Yes. Advance fares are valid only exactly as specified, the stations and the train

If your railcard is 16-25, you might note that Transpennine seems to have a higher discount rate of 50% available, reducing the next train after that to £4.70, and down to £2.95 for booking the 0806 further ahead

http://www.tpexpress.co.uk/train-tickets/student-discounts/

The additional discount from 34% to 50% is ONLY available from tickets on First TransPennine Express services, and ONLY when purchased through the URL www.tpexpress.co.uk/train-tickets/students.

The additional discount only applies to Advance Purchase tickets, and ...

thelawnet

lea_t88 wrote: »

Hello and firstly apologies if this is in the wrong place,

As of Thursday I'm going to be commuting via train. The train is Manchester to Leeds leaving MCO at 08.06 and getting into Leeds at 09.09.

To buy this ticket in advance it is £6.25 with my railcard.

Not any more it's not.

The train's first stop is Stalybridge where I could also get on. HOWEVER, to get a ticket Stalybridge to Leeds on this same train costs £12.

Am I able to buy the ticke Manchester - Leeds and just get on te train at Stalybridge? I would have thought so as I'm not doing any extra travelling for 'free' I'm actually doing less than I paid for.

Not allowed with Advance tickets. Allowed with season tickets and (most) returns.

I assume you are coming back every day?

You will probably want to buy a season ticket.

Stalybridge - Leeds is £61.40/week, so £6.14 per journey.

There are cheaper tickets, e.g., Chinley - Leeds, at £55.70/week, which are valid from Stalybridge, since the shortest route from Chinley to Leeds is:

Chinley - Guide Bridge
Guide Bridge - Leeds (via Stalybridge)

and a ticket is, unless stated otherwise, always valid on the shortest route.

Since this would be a season ticket you can start and finish short at any point along the route, e.g., Stalybridge - Leeds.

If you buy a ticket valid for a month or more, you get a discount, and you can have it for odd periods, so if you wanted to make your first journey on Thursday, 8th November, then one month would end on 7th December, which is a Friday, so perfect, because you are not paying for a weekend.

If you are going to take a week or so off over Christmas, you could then buy weeklies, and for example's sake if you went back to work on Monday 7th January, one month would end on 6th February, a Wednesday, so in that case you'd buy a ticket valid for one month and two days, and the two extra days are priced at 1/30th of the cost of a monthly.

A month's season ticket Chinley - Leeds costs £213.90 - roughly £10/working day.

redux

If you're willing to consider travelling earlier in the morning, look at Transpennine's EarlyBird season ticket, which is £42 a week or £161.30 for a month for MCO - LDS

Its conditions include trains which are due to arrive at the outbound destination before 0730, return sets off 1000 to 1600 or after 1830, so it won't be for everyone

miller

I had a brief look at travel passes issued by West Yorkshire PTE / GMPTE, but the combination seemed more expensive than what has been found already.

lea_t88

p00hsticks wrote: »

Sorry, can't answer your question, but are you sure you will be able to use your railcard ? You don't say what sort of railcard it is, but if it's a 16-25 one there's a £12 minimum fare during the weekday morning peak

Hi thanks for your reply, yes it is a 16-25 railcard I have. I did wonder about restrictions but surely it wouldn't let me buy the ticket at that price if it wasn't an option?

I'm going to get 2 x Anytime returns for tomorrow and Friday until I work out what my specific leaving times etc would be, and this is £12.80 with RC discount.