Cheap Train Fares guide discussion

JoJoB

wealdroam wrote: »

Looks like you can get a £30+ fare for a Sunday in mid-August.
You will need to split, and you are probably just a little bit too early. Keep trying for the next few weeks.

Thanks! Would you mind pointing me to where you found your £30 fare please? I have used national rail journey planner and Split Ticketing website to check every sunday of July and August but didn't see any advance fares available, just the flexible ticket option of £174. Would be great if there is another site that is showing the cheaper ones :-)

miller

I just typed out a long response to this and got an error ;-(

Booking horizons suggests the advance fares are available for this date.

My suggestion was, try singles to Lancaster, Lancaster to Euston on advances, walk to St Pancras and buy a walk up ticket to Ramsgate.

wealdroam

JoJoB wrote: »

Thanks! Would you mind pointing me to where you found your £30 fare please? I have used national rail journey planner and Split Ticketing website to check every sunday of July and August but didn't see any advance fares available, just the flexible ticket option of £174. Would be great if there is another site that is showing the cheaper ones :-)

I used trainsplit.com for 09 August, but on checking again just noticed that the £31.70 fare was leaving Morecombe at 19:46 and arriving at Ramsgate at 07:38 the next morning... probably not what you want.

Sorry to raise false hopes.

JoJoB

No worries Wealdrom.

Thanks for feedback Miller. I'd thought of the Lancaster option too as would probably be able to get a lift there, but it seems the same ticketing situation (£171 flexible fares available but no advance ticket options that I can see).

Will keep checking though.

miller

The 11.58 off Lancaster on 13/09 to Euston (changing at Crewe) comes up at £46.80 advance for me on the Southern website (2 Adults, 1 Child, Family Railcard).

10 minute walk to St Pancras and buy a walk up ticket to Ramsgate for £36.70 or £45.20 (depending on route/HS1 etc)...or get the bus/tube etc. but even with luggage it's easier to walk it in my opinion.

In my original post that got eaten by the MSE forum, I have encountered problems in the past getting advance tickets from branch line stations off the West Coast mainline to destinations beyond London. Splitting at a mainline station in the NW and London has been the only solution for me.

JoJoB

Yes, just checked again and came back here to thank you! Brilliant, all booked up now :-)

lenniejive

Just managed to save £28.10 on a single journey from Three Bridges to Banbury by splitting the ticket 3 ways. Three Bridges to Victoria £5.00, Victoria to London Marylebone on the Underground £4.80, Marylebone to Banbury £6.00.

Took a bit of time to make sure all the times were right but £48.90 quoted for a all through ticket. Well worth the bother. Might treat myself to a taxi at the end rather than on the local bus!:T

miller

lenniejive wrote: »

Victoria to London Marylebone on the Underground £4.80

I would double check this. I am not aware of any online planners which will sell this ticket separately. It should only be £2.30 if using Oyster/Contactless as a PAYG journey in Zone 1.

wealdroam

miller wrote: »

I would double check this. I am not aware of any online planners which will sell this ticket separately. It should only be £2.30 if using Oyster/Contactless as a PAYG journey in Zone 1.

TfL's Single Fare Finder shows that £4.80 is the cash fare from Victoria Underground to Marylebone Underground.

lenniejive, use a contactless payment card for that leg, as suggested by miller.

freeasabird

Instead of buying a monthly Zone 1 and 2 travelcard, I was wondering whether it's worth getting an annual travelcard which would give me access to benefits such as a 1/3 off train travel.

I don't belong to any of the groups covered by rail discounts such as over 60, two together etc so this might save me money?