Train - Leeds to Bristol - help please

rayens

Hi
I have a daughter starting Uni in Leeds shortly who will want to get trains or Megabus back and forth so trying to find out some details of the cheapest way to do this

I know about Travel Cards but unsure what operator covers this line ?

Any help please as this looks an expensive journey

Thanks

muckybutt

I used to have a national express student travel card, and I now Leeds bus station is very busy with NE seems to be one of their "hubs" and its not far from the uni.
I think that would be the cheaper option than a rail card.
In Leeds itself im sure they do a local travel card, most probably discounted for students as well.

jamesbrownontheroad

rayens wrote: »

Hi
I have a daughter starting Uni in Leeds shortly who will want to get trains or Megabus back and forth so trying to find out some details of the cheapest way to do this

I know about Travel Cards but unsure what operator covers this line ?

Any help please as this looks an expensive journey

Thanks

For a start, she needs to get a 16-25 Railcard, for 1/3 off most fares. Buy at the station, online or try one of the many banks who will be competing for her business when she arrives at university. Natwest usually offers a free three year railcard with a student account to new students every September/October.

There are three broad groups of train fares: Advance, Off-Peak and Anytime. Advance are the cheapest; they are sold in limited numbers and are one way only. They are quota controlled by the company whose trains the route uses, whereas Off-Peak and Anytime are available in unlimited numbers right up until departure.

CrossCountry serve the route between Bristol and Leeds, so they will be the ones releasing the Advance fares into the system, usually about 12 weeks ahead of travel. Check the "booking horizon" for each operator here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/booking_horizons.html It usually opens up another week in advance every Friday.

However, CrossCountry Trains are relatively tight fisted when it comes to releasing Advance fares on their routes. Your daughter needs to book well in advance and avoid the rush hour.

She can buy train tickets online at CrossCountry or East Coast (whose website I prefer). Never use thetrainline.com - they have exactly the same fares as everyone else and they charge unavoidable fees on top.

If, for whatever reason, she has to travel at the very last minute, and can't get Advance fares, she should try comparing the cost of an Off-Peak or Anytime ticket Leeds / Bristol with the same combination of fares split at Birmingham New Street. She could probably save a few extra quid off by splitting tickets at Sheffield as well (so holding tickets Leeds - Sheffield, Sheffield - Birmingham NS, Birmingham NS - Bristol). As long as the train calls at all those stations, she can use split tickets on the same continuous train journey.

muckybutt

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/yorkhumber/leeds/fares/students.php

http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/Offers/StudentCoachDeals.cfm

rayens

Thanks people - some really helpful stuff here

anewman

Book well in advance, travel at a time you probably don't want to, and plan well ahead is the only way. You can get some tickets really cheap that way, especially between Leeds and Bristol. Cheapest I can currently find is £20 single. If you buy tickets on the day and travel on the hoof and she may as well drive instead.