Split Ticketing: Report successful routes here

omelette451

somabc wrote: »

Do you think split ticketing would work on the Stansted Express?
Liverpool St -> Stansted is normally £28 return.
Liverpool St -> Bishops Strotford -> Stansted is £19.50 off peak return.
This is staying on the same train, not getting off at bishops strotford. Seems to good to be true?

I don't get how you got it to be £19.50...
LST-BIS is £17.80
BIS-SSD is £5.80 (both off-peak returns)
=£23.60

So yes it does work, but not by the amount you suggest (and you have to make sure the train you catch definitely stops at BIS). As far as I can make out, the reason is because there is no off-peak fare to Stansted, only Anytime ones.

somabc

omelette451 wrote: »

I don't get how you got it to be £19.50...
LST-BIS is £17.80
BIS-SSD is £5.80 (both off-peak returns)
=£23.60

So yes it does work, but not by the amount you suggest (and you have to make sure the train you catch definitely stops at BIS). As far as I can make out, the reason is because there is no off-peak fare to Stansted, only Anytime ones.

Sorry I think the 19.50 was an off peak day return. I suppose I could do what I did last time when the train broke down at Bishops Strotford and get off and use the bus.

woodhouseian

dzug1 wrote: »

And splitting at at all might be unnecessary - there are some decent through fares available

Hi sorry should have explained, I want what used to be called - in the days when I had a YP railcard! - a supersaver or saver ticket

Macc-Reading is £75.10

Macc-Birmingham is £25.50
Birmingham-Reading is £37.50

I make the total cost with the split, £63.00, which is £12.10 cheaper than not splitting.

KeithP

woodhouseian wrote: »

Hi sorry should have explained, I want what used to be called - in the days when I had a YP railcard! - a supersaver or saver ticket

Macc-Reading is £75.10

Macc-Birmingham is £25.50
Birmingham-Reading is £37.50

I make the total cost with the split, £63.00, which is £12.10 cheaper than not splitting.

Macc-Reading at £75.10 is offpeak single via London.
Macc-Reading anytime single via Oxford is only £66.00.
Are you interested in Advanced Singles for £11.50?
Have you checked the split cost via Oxford?
Also, there are some bargains to be had Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone.

But all these depend on date and time.

somabc

Why does the national rail website not automatically check for split ticketing? It knows the stations the train calls at so it would not be hard to check the cost of splitting at each station. It could even show you the route on google maps style interface and you just click and drag to alter the route and show the new price. Or do the TOC's have too much of vested interest in allowing this to happen?

omelette451

somabc wrote: »

Why does the national rail website not automatically check for split ticketing? It knows the stations the train calls at so it would not be hard to check the cost of splitting at each station. It could even show you the route on google maps style interface and you just click and drag to alter the route and show the new price. Or do the TOC's have too much of vested interest in allowing this to happen?

I seem to remember Martin saying once that MSE were working on a similar system but that to make it work would require creating one of the most complex systems of algorithms ever created, or something like that. In any case the MSE computer and maths boffins were stumped by it. There are just so many possible permutations that getting it accurate for every query is actually very difficult - it'd have to weigh up competing operators, competing routes and all the different ticket types in one messy calculation, and that's even before you take into account deviations (e.g Preston to Birmingham via Manchester rather than direct) and such like. I imagine the National Rail people would like to do it - they're very keen on constant innovation of their website - but find it's just too complicated.

omelette451

KeithP wrote: »

Macc-Reading at £75.10 is offpeak single via London.
Macc-Reading anytime single via Oxford is only £66.00.
Are you interested in Advanced Singles for £11.50?

If you want a single you really ought to try to tie yourself down to an advance ticket on a particular train - saver singles are shockingly poor value for money. Since you have to travel on the date of the ticket, if you're not sure when you'll want to go it's actually cheaper to buy three advance singles (am,pm,eve) and throw away the two you don't use.

Saver fares (='off-peak') are great if you want flexibility for the return, however, and in this case it seems as though splitting at Birmingham does offer the best fares. Split at Banbury as well to get it even cheaper still (=approx. £62, c.f. £72.60 MAC-RDG). There's no saving to be gained splitting at Oxford.

Lu_T

Hi all

Hoping you can point me in the right direction. I'm going from Wakefield to Northampton on a Friday and returning the next day.

I can split the route at Birmingham so the fare is as follows:

Wakefield - Bham £44.70 return (singles no cheaper)
B'ham - Northampton £15.20 return (singles no cheaper)

The full price fare for the whole journey without a split is £64.80 and I can get 10% off on the National Express website, which makes it cheaper than faffing with splitting.

Can anyone do any better? TIA

omelette451

Lu_T wrote: »

Hoping you can point me in the right direction. I'm going from Wakefield to Northampton on a Friday and returning the next day.
I can split the route at Birmingham[...]
The full price fare for the whole journey without a split is £64.80 and I can get 10% off on the National Express website, which makes it cheaper than faffing with splitting.

The best route for you to take is not to go via Birmingham at all. You should get the same train out of Wakefield but change at Tamworth instead for the Trent Valley connection to Northampton that runs via Nuneaton. The £64.80 fare you found is valid on both routes.

However, it can easily beaten if you give us dates rather than just saying you're going on "a" Friday. For example, using next week as a guide gave me £18.50 singles for Wakefield-Tamworth and back, which connect with a normal £15 return fare TAM-NMP to give £52 return. There seems to be plenty of availability. Further in advance it goes even lower and you have even more choice. You could also investigate routes via the Midland Mainline to Kettering/Market Harborough, but I'm not going to do that without a date to work with.

Why do you get 10% off on the NX website? Is it something you can share with everyone else so we all can?

KeithP

Could be this...
10% off East Coast Trains

But there seem to be restrictions... like Applies exclusively to National Express East Coast lowest Advance tickets. (whatever that means).