Cheap Train Fares guide discussion

miller

It's not an option for this trip, but at quieter times and if you are not in a rush splitting at say Stoke and going for London Midland only tickets into Euston will result in a saving.

meher

nhs staff get a further 10% discount for annual seasons tickets; simply contact the human resources department to apply for the discount (or reimbursement)

jellyblob

Hello, sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I bought one of these recently and I was amazed it was such a good deal. I have a gold card season ticket for my London commute and a friend at work told me that I could buy a partner rail card/ network rail card for £1 which means she would get 1/3 off leisure travel.

She gave me the filled in form and £1, and when I went to the ticket office it worked! I was worried that it's only for 'partners', but it's not. Seems like a great bargain to me. Didn't see this on the savings guide, so thought it might be good to add. Can't add a link but there is info here with gaps added in: railcard. co. uk/ network/ partner-card/

yorkie2

jellyblob: yes a season with an origin and/or destination in the Network Area is issued as a Gold Card (though if one of the stations is outside the area, they may not have the correct Gold Card stock, so you may have to go to the station inside the area to get the ticket issued) and anyone in that position is entitled to the benefits of a Gold Card, which as you say include a Network Railcard for someone else for £1, as well as discounted travel for other passengers travelling with you, cheap First Class upgrades, etc.

See http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46573.aspx for details

GoToGal

Trying to get the price down on tickets from Wakefield Westgate to Manchester Airport. Departing Sun 20th April around noon, returning Fri 25th April after 15:40, giving 1 hour to clear customs on an international flight. 2 x 16-25 railcards and off-peak travel is coming up £38.40 on TPE website.

Am I booking too early? My dates didn't show up on the Networkrail site, so I'm wondering if that's it?

I also tried to get the student discount fares (excludes Man Air) from Wakefield to Manchester which should be 50% off but it kept coming up as no fares available.

Help!

yorkie2

GoToGal wrote: »

Trying to get the price down on tickets from Wakefield Westgate to Manchester Airport. Departing Sun 20th April around noon, returning Fri 25th April after 15:40, giving 1 hour to clear customs on an international flight. 2 x 16-25 railcards and off-peak travel is coming up £38.40 on TPE website.

Yes, the cost of an Off Peak Return from Wakefield Stns to Manchester Airport with 16-25 Railcard is indeed £19.20.

This is valid outward by any train except those timed to depart M-F before 0800, and return by any train within a month.

GoToGal wrote: »

Am I booking too early?

Reservations are not yet open for those dates.

GoToGal wrote: »

My dates didn't show up on the Networkrail site, so I'm wondering if that's it?

Network Rail is the infrastructure provider. National Rail Enquiries will display (non-promotional) fares, but won't sell tickets.

GoToGal wrote: »

I also tried to get the student discount fares (excludes Man Air) from Wakefield to Manchester which should be 50% off but it kept coming up as no fares available.

TPE's Student Promo only applies to Advance tickets, for travel with TPE (e.g. Huddersfield or Leeds to Manchester), when booked using the promotional link on the TPE website.

There are no Advance fares from Wakefield to Manchester.

Advance fares are only available when purchased in conjunction with compulsory reservations, which are not yet available beyond 12 April. See Advance ticket & reservation information.

pandora205

Anyone know when Virgin release their next batch of tickets? I'm trying to book a return Birmingham International out 19.3 back 10.4 and can only find London Midland tickets. Those would be fine except they don't have much luggage space.
Thanks

dzug1

pandora205 wrote: »

Anyone know when Virgin release their next batch of tickets? I'm trying to book a return Birmingham International out 19.3 back 10.4 and can only find London Midland tickets. Those would be fine except they don't have much luggage space.
Thanks

My guess is next Thursday or Friday


But why not buy the outward single now to secure the lower price and then buy the return single when it's released?

pandora205

dzug1 wrote: »

My guess is next Thursday or Friday


But why not buy the outward single now to secure the lower price and then buy the return single when it's released?

I might do that but I'll see how low I could get an anytime return as it would be a problem if my flight was delayed back (and it's long haul so could be).

dzug1

pandora205 wrote: »

I might do that but I'll see how low I could get an anytime return as it would be a problem if my flight was delayed back (and it's long haul so could be).

You don't need to buy an anytime (or off peak) return in advance - they will be the same price at the station on the day