Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

crankie1uk

dzug wrote: »

It's too early to book anything other than standard tickets - the cheap ones haven't been released yet (or hadn't when I last looked a few days ago)

And if you are using standard tickets there's no point in booking them - you can buy on the day for the same price.

Thanks Dzug. Forgive my ignorance, was the price I got a standard price? and that won't disappear the closer I get to the date and Should I check the trainline nearer the date?
Thanks Crankie

dzug

crankie1uk wrote: »

Thanks Dzug. Forgive my ignorance, was the price I got a standard price? and that won't disappear the closer I get to the date and Should I check the trainline nearer the date?
Thanks Crankie

£128.50 is a saver return for you all. You can buy it on the day if you want. There will be some peak hour restrictions - not sure what they are from Barrow, probably fairly minimal.

I'd check the trainline nearer the time - cheap singles in each direction should become available. If you are lucky they could halve the price.

pingua

Would anyone be able to help with tickets Shrewsbury to London 16/11 back on 18/11. Would rather early - ish trains if a choice was given.

I can't get to grips with all this.

dzug

pingua wrote: »

Would anyone be able to help with tickets Shrewsbury to London 16/11 back on 18/11. Would rather early - ish trains if a choice was given.

I can't get to grips with all this.

The advance purchase tickets look to be sold out (pity - from £10 each way)

A saver at £41 odd is the best bet - any off-peak train via Birmingham. The 0822 is the first train it's valid on - arrives about 1100. You don't have to buy in advance.

nash0819

I'm looking at booking a return from London to Manchester, out 29/12 back 31/12 travelling around noon each time.

On the out leg of the journey, there are no routes available except via Marylebone-> Brum Moor St (walk)-> Brum New St-> Stockport -> Manchester. Not even the old favourite of Midland Mainline to Sheffield (and change there) will work. I can go up via GNER to Doncaster and change there but it won't let me book that in one journey, must be an invalid route, I guess.

On the way back, I can go via Sheffield and then Midland Mainline to St Pancras - for a very competitive £9 - but again there is no direct train from Euston. Before the weekend, thetrainline.com was offering this route, albeit at full saver price and no cheap singles.

What's going on? Are there engineering works or have Virgin pulled tickets for these dates? I've been to both the National Rail and Virgin Trains websites to look for details of engineering works but have not seen anything.

[edit] Just before 14.00 today, I got an e-mail circular from Thetrainline.com saying "bookings now open until 9th Jan 08". That may be co-incidence but, now, I cannot book a return to Manchester at all. I think I can still book the seperate single options (up via Brum, back via Sheffield) but not as a return journey. Confused? You will be...

[edit #2] The website is now back to the state it was before my first edit. Still no Euston fares however.

Lippy_2

Hi

Hope this is in right place. i have a family railcard and I know it says you must travel with a child to get discount but can I just buy a child ticket even though not travelling with one and get my 1/3 off my ticket, How do they know if your travelling with a child. cheers

pompeyrich

Lippy wrote: »

Hi

Hope this is in right place. i have a family railcard and I know it says you must travel with a child to get discount but can I just buy a child ticket even though not travelling with one and get my 1/3 off my ticket, How do they know if your travelling with a child. cheers

Think you need to have a child with you, although I have known people not to take their child with them and get away with it. The ticket will be marked FAM or similar so the guard will know you bought it using a Family Railcard and would probably be able to see if there was a child with you or not !!

dzug

Pompeyrich - try putting a VIA of Milton Keynes in the journey planner as a one way journey - you will get a very strange route (Northampton Brum Stockport using 4 TOCs) but a fare of £13.50

I'm pretty certain that engineering work is to blame - ie no through trains, rather than no fares. Else everything is all ****ed up. Or both.

nash0819

dzug wrote: »

Pompeyrich - try putting a VIA of Milton Keynes in the journey planner as a one way journey - you will get a very strange route (Northampton Brum Stockport using 4 TOCs) but a fare of £13.50

I'm pretty certain that engineering work is to blame - ie no through trains, rather than no fares. Else everything is all ****ed up. Or both.

I was the one after the info rather than PompeyRich but thank you anyway!

If I do go up on the Saturday 29th, there is an alternative route on GNER via either Retford or Doncaster and then Sheffield. The lowest I can squeeze out a fare on that is £18.35 taking 4.5 hours with 2 changes. Compared to the £13.50 with 3 changes (also roughly 4.5 hours) via the route you proposed. I guess the MK route would be the best.

However I may be going up 2 days beforehand, which would make things much easier. Then I can go via Sheffield both ways and the combined fare is £16 all in and I only have the one change to make. However, planning that last journey, it only offers me the cheap tickets if I do not put "Going Via: Sheffield". If I leave that field blank, I get the cheap ticket, changing at Sheffield!

I think I will double check with Virgin - to see if there really are engineering works or not - before I book however.

[edit] Just checked the Virgin trains ticket website for the journey from Manchester Picadilly to Stockport & they are all bus replacements from 27 Dec through to 1 Jan. Trains from Manchester Victoria to Stockport still operate.

Also, the National Rail website now says that London Midland services will start from Harrow & Wealdstone rather than Euston 27-28 Jan (inclusive) so presumably that will take out Virgin as well? Plus Bletchley to Northampton is out on 27th as well.

I have managed to get the £13.50 27 Dec fare starting the journey from Watford Junction to Manchester - and not specifying "via:MKC" - however I don't trust the itinerary to exist!!

nash0819

This link from thetrainline.com could be useful for many; I got it in a promotional e-mail from the company. It displays which Train Operator Companies (TOCs) have released tickets and until which dates. Everyone is selling tickets through 31st December with most going to about 11th January.