Cheap Train Fares guide discussion

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I have for the first time tried split ticketing and made a great saving.

I was looking at Downham Market to Bromsgrove which came up at £72one way. However by doing D/mkt to Birmingham £27.90 then Birmingham to Bromsgrove was £6.10 making a total of £34 - big difference for the exact same trains

dutchie

I've been trying out the train splitting websites, but confused about the advice they give on train changes, delays and advance tickets.

The sites are splitting my journey at a station where I need to change,so I have a ticket A to B and advance ticket B to C, and the change is at B. What happens if my A to B train is delayed and I miss the B to C train, with it being an advance ticket, valid for a specific time only?

dutchie

dutchie wrote: »

I've been trying out the train splitting websites, but confused about the advice they give on train changes, delays and advance tickets.

The sites are splitting my journey at a station where I need to change,so I have a ticket A to B and advance ticket B to C, and the change is at B. What happens if my A to B train is delayed and I miss the B to C train, with it being an advance ticket, valid for a specific time only?

In case this helps anyone else, here's what I found. The National Rail Conditions of Carriage 2018 state:

"9.4. Where you are using a Ticket valid on a specific train service or train services (such as an ‘advance’ Ticket) and you miss a service because a previous connecting train service was delayed, you will be able to travel on the next train service provided by the Train Company with whom you were booked without penalty."

You can see the full document here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/National%20Rail%20Conditions%20of%20Travel.pdf

So it looks like in my example with a delay occurring from A to B, causing me to miss the scheduled B to C train as specified on the advance ticket, I would be permitted to travel on the next train.

KeithP

dutchie wrote: »

So it looks like in my example with a delay occurring from A to B, causing me to miss the scheduled B to C train as specified on the advance ticket, I would be permitted to travel on the next train.

Yes, your interpretation of the NRCoT is correct.

You seem to be implying that 'the train splitting websites' are giving out different information?

Which 'train splitting websites' are getting it wrong?

dutchie

Actually it was more the moneysavingexpert website info confusing me. At https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets/ it says:

"In the rare event that you book split tickets and your split ticket stop coincides with the station where you change trains, should your first train run late, your second ticket might not be valid for the next leg of the journey.


For example, if you travel from Aford to Cshire via Btown and split your tickets at Btown, and also need to change trains at Btown, then if the Aford to Btown train is late, your ticket may not be valid for a later Btown to Cshire train.


Finally, off-peak and super off-peak tickets require you to travel at specific times of day. So if you split your tickets at a station where you have to change, and a delay takes you into peak times, you may have to pay again to travel during this time."

hkareno

Can u advice? I got an advance train ticket travelling from Newark to Gatwick airport changed at London Victoria. First part of the journey delayed more than 30mins. However, this didn't affect my connections as I booked the ticket with extra connection time. In this situation as I still entital delay compensation? Thx a lot.

KeithP

hkareno wrote: »

Can u advice? I got an advance train ticket travelling from Newark to Gatwick airport changed at London Victoria. First part of the journey delayed more than 30mins. However, this didn't affect my connections as I booked the ticket with extra connection time. In this situation as I still entital delay compensation? Thx a lot.

If you arrived at Gatwick at the time you were supposed to arrive there, then there was no delay and therefore no compensation is due.

yesruf

There are thousands of train ticket options for multiple train journeys that aren't available to buy as single journey or split journey tickets from any website. For example, between 17:48 and 18:33 there are 4 trains that leave Kings Cross and arrive at Doncaster between 19:43 and 20:20. All of these could connect to a Transpennine Express service that departs Doncaster at 20:36 for S!!!!horpe. These 4 journey options are not sold on any websites, including the split ticket websites. The only way to buy those tickets to buy the Doncaster train ticket manually and separate to the Transpennine train ticket. The algorithms in the background are denying customers choice and value for money.

tonyf33

Still getting Stevenage to Hull return for £26.40, it's the only upside of the journey tbh, still can't book cycles directly on the website at time of booking so left to the mercy of buying ticket first then hoping there's space on the train for your bike. Booking it at your local station is a hit or miss thing, at least the takeover from Virgin means that the call centre isn't in India where often the language barrier makes it difficult and extends the call hugely. 40 minutes last time to sort out a simple 5 minute task!
Agree with above, the system is actually preventing connections to be made that would be more conducive to travel and costing more to boot.

Pelepeg

Hi,
Just wanted to let you know that although I couldn't see an easy way to split my train tickets for savings, I did manage to save a massive £147.30 using Tesco Clubcard vouchers. I bought a Friends and Family Railcard for £15 (full normal price £30). This reduced my rail fare from £162.30 down to £91.95. Then booked through Red Spotted Hanky, using vouchers again, currently 1/3 of the price, so paid £30 (vouchers) and £2.95 to cover the last little bit and £1 booking fee.
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