the trainline

crana999

Wargh, the Trainline site is just useless. I used to use Qjump but it's recently been changed so it's just a slightly different looking version of Trainline.

Neither sites have options to choose cheaper-but-slower trains any more

It won't let me find a journey I KNOW exists (which I found by doing it in two separate journeys - it's the way I've been before) which is a bit slower but much cheaper than the ones it suggests.

I'll probably end up buying the ticket I want from the station, as it seems impossible to buy it online.. but you have to buy it at least 7 days in advance, so I'd have to make a special trip to the station.

To get to the station is about a 40 minute walk each way, or I can pay to go on the bus, or get the unreliable free bus (which only runs on weekdays, when I'm too busy to go usually) and still have about 15 mins walk each way :-[ . They don't make it easy, do they?

I can't face trying to get them to sell me a ticket on the phoneline they are useless.

All I want is to buy a ticket which I know exists, which I used to be able to do online with (relative) ease, and the darn thing won't let me, so I have to make a hugely inconvenient trip to the station. I can't really afford to just pay the higher face :-/.

vanoonoo

is there a travel agent nearer to you than the station? you may have to pay an issuing fee though. what about ticket on departure?

crana999

I'm not sure about a travel agent - I didn't actually know they sold train tickets :-[ - which ones do?

the thing is if I buy it on departure I have to pay a much higher fare than if I buy the Central Value 7-Day Advance ticket... which obviously has to be bought 7 days in advance.

vanoonoo

ticket on departure is like e ticketing with airlines... you order it all in advance but collect your permit to travel on the day on travel but be warned - only some stations offer this, and you can only collect during their opening hours (obviously) virgin used to run the scheme but I am out of touch with it recently so dont know if they still operate it or if the licence has changed hands. as for travel agents that sell rail tickets - you'd have to check that out locally I'm afraid, but the non chain ones tend to (ie not thomas cook or lunnpoly type places) - perhaps members of advantage or an independent one. failing that a business travel management company should be able to help (see if friends have a travel company looking after their travel arrangements at work) and they could issue and post the tickets to you or is there an STA travel near you that does rail?

crana999

ah, some good ideas there. thanks!

by the way, completely off topic, but am i right that you have HMS? if so do you ever go on the hmsa boards?

vanoonoo

yes I do, no i dont

Andrea

Quick word of warning - when you're booking tickets, at the bottom of the page that shows the journey you've chosen is a section providing travel insurance from Columbus Direct.

The boxes are ticked by default. It's up to you to untick them before you click on continue otherwise you'll be paying another £2 for insurance on a return journey.