Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

girleight@

BigBelly wrote:

If you don't mind going by bus/coach then you can go for less than £12, or as little as £5.50 if you are coming back the same day.

Yay thanks for that BigBelly. Should save us loads (there's a few of us heading there for a 21st)

amboy

can anyone help me find a train ticket for my friend from bournemouth to york departing around 20 - 22 march for 7 or 8 days, she will be travelling with her 18 month old boy.

The cheapest i can find is £90 and there is no way she can afford that, the booking system does not let you choose the £14 single fare option though.

Must be a cheaper way

BigBelly

amboy wrote:

can anyone help me find a train ticket for my friend from bournemouth to york departing around 20 - 22 march for 7 or 8 days, she will be travelling with her 18 month old boy.

The cheapest i can find is £90 and there is no way she can afford that, the booking system does not let you choose the £14 single fare option though.

Must be a cheaper way

The 18 month old boy is free, but he may be required to sit on the lap of your friend.

For outward travel 20th March and return 27th March, I have found a return from London to York for £40 Apex Return, and also from Bournemouth to London for £16.60 Apex Return, but you need to play with the dates and times so that you allow 1 hour minimum to get between Kings Cross and Waterloo. You also need to pay for tube fares (£2 each way) to get between Waterloo and Kings Cross, unless you pick up an Oyster Card in London (say at Waterloo tube station), which cuts the tube fare to £1.70 each way. However, you need to pay a £3 deposit to get the Oyster Card, but that can be refunded (by cheque in the post) if you want.

With the Apex, you are required to use the trains stated on the ticket. If not, you will have to pay again.

If you don't mind going by Megabus I have found the following journeys:

20 Mar 0700 Bournemouth - 1010 London £3
20 Mar 1130 London - Leeds £5
27 Mar 1300 Leeds - 1730 London £7
27 Mar 1930 Bournemouth - London £1

(total cost £16.50, with 50p booking fee)

The times are the same on all days, but fares differ.

You would need to get train fares between Leeds and York (£8.50 single each way), and you have to get between Leeds bus station and Leeds City Station (train). Alternatively, you could get the bus between Leeds and York (https://www.yorkshirecoastliner.co.uk) which would save money as they offer a period return (£7.95). However frequency is low if you go on Sunday.

There is a (small) risk of missing the connection in London - Megabus are not obliged to maintain connections. However, in an emergency, you should be able to get on a National Express coach for reasonable cost.

National Express funfares are also a possibility, but availability is less. Try https://www.nationalexpress.co.uk, again trying London to Leeds and London to Bournemouth separately (as these are routes were special 'funfares' are available), trying different days to see if you can get a funfare. You could also mix and match - try train between London and York and National Express/Megabus between London and Bournemouth or train between London and Bournemouth and Megabus/National Express between London and Leeds (then train/Yorkshire Coastliner between Leeds and York).

amboy

thanks very much for that I shall get on with booking that

Nigel1

"In addition, RPI's aren't sure of, e.g. on WAGN it is permissible to travel in 1st class with a STD ticket if the train is only advertised as STD in the timetable. I felt trying my luck too far was not worth the hassle, although I wouldn't turn down the extra zones."

Back in BR days, this was definitely legit if advertised as 2nd/Standard only. I used to make use of it occasionally on local trains into London. Not sure what the current rules are though.

margaret_3

Any ideas on rail travel prices from Glasgow to London?
Thanks.

BigBelly

margaret wrote:

Any ideas on rail travel prices from Glasgow to London?
Thanks.

Look on the Trainline https://www.trainline.com

'Book in advance' fares (where you must specific particular trains and travel only on those) vary from £27 to £74 return.

A Saver return if these aren't available is £90.60 (valid on most trains outside the rush hours, no need to book in advance)

'Book in advance' singles vary from £17 to £73

Megabus charge between £1 and £14 single (plus 50p booking fee per transaction) https://www.megabus.com (must quote reservation number to driver, no changes, no refunds)

National Express charge between £1 and £12 single for 'funfares' (book in advance, must print out e-ticket, no changes, no refunds), also £34 or £43.50 return for regular tickets https://www.nationalexpress.com

margaret_3

Thanks a lot BB.

Jonapet

Fares Manual
Sadly, the best way to find bargain fares is to use the National Fares Manuals. Unless you work in the industry, you won't have access to these (although it might be worth checking in a library). Much of the fares manual is available here http://www.atoc.org/traveltrade/fares.shtml - except for the main fares bit. But you will still find useful info about things like rail rovers (section G - cheap off-peak travel if you are travelling for a few days in a row), boundaries for cheap fares (sections O,P,Q) etc.



There are ways to crack into cheap fares. For example, I'm planning a trip from York to the lake district. I want to travel to Ravensglass (on the Cumbrian Coast). A standard single is £41.30. However, a standard single to St Bees (just a few miles up the coast) is £29.80. Plus a single from St Bees to Ravenglass (£2.15), gives a saving of £9.35. If I go via Carnforth, a ticket from York-Carnforth is £18.90, and Carnforth-Ravenglass is £10. A saving of £11.40 (or 28%!!). There are four of us going, so it is a major saving.
The reason is that the £41.30 Ravenglass route is valid via Preston. To go via St Bees means going via Carlisle. There is no significant time difference between these - just different routes. In addition, I buy a York-St Bees ticket because (and this is where the fares manual comes in handy) - for most journeys, they use the same fare for St Bees as for Workington (which is a fair way back) - so I'm kind of travelling between Workington and St Bees for free.
The Carnforth option is even cheaper because not many trains go that way - but it may well suit my purpose.

So the key tips are -
1)look at the routes you can take - one may be significantly cheaper than another.
2) If you're going to a small station, find out which larger stations are close by for the fare to come under - if you can work it out, you may be able 'hop' between stations. I appreciate this sounds complicated.

Don't use trainline
People have mentioned trainline - I would strongly advise people not to use this. It often doesn't have the cheapest fares available. If you phone up, or go into your local station, you are much more likely to be able to get the cheapest fares. In addition, its database doesn't show engineering works. Thus, you could book your tickets, and find yourself sat on a replacement bus service for five hours. If you are determined to use trainline, at least check on nationalrail.co.uk for engineering works updates first. The GNER website is a good one for special discount tickets. http://www.gner.co.uk/GNER/Tickets/Specialoffers.htm


Refunds
Many people aren't aware that if you don't use your ticket, (or if your ticket is not stamped by the conductor) you can get a refund on it. This can be useful if you buy a return ticket, but then somebody offers you a lift home. It is less cost-effective with saver tickets, since they refund you the difference between a single and a standard return (minus an admin fee).

Compensation
Never neglect to apply for compensation if your journey is delayed (the passengers' charters tell you how late you need to be to qualify for this).

Don't get caught out
Always check your ticket validity. If you've missed your connection (particularly with GNER), get a conductor to validate your ticket before you board the train. Getting caught with an invalid ticket can be a very expensive mistake which easily cancels out any savings you've carefully researched. In addition, always buy your ticket before boarding the train. Railcard discounts and saver tickets usually aren't available to buy off the conductor.

Hull trains
If you're going to London, then Hull Trains stops at Hull, Brough, Howden, Selby, Doncaster, Retford, Grantham and London Kings Cross. If you are a bit flexible about times, you can get a first class seat cheaper than a standard class on GNER (and HT's standard class seats are really cheap) - something to look out for.

Final word of caution
Don't waste too much time looking for tricks to save money on fares. They do exist, but for most journeys, it is best to just ask for the cheapest ticket in the booking office (and be aware of your rights/conditions etc.). Looking for tricks like the York-Ravenglass one above is only really worth doing if there are a few of you travelling, or if you do the journey regularly.
Perhaps the best way to do this is to talk to fellow commuters and see what they do.

evesham1988la

eh....? why would anyone want to go to hull?