Split Ticketing: Report successful routes here

costingbunny_2

indierocker85 wrote: »

OK, first of all. I did a search for an example of what National Rail say is the cheapest ticket (which is nothing to go by) based on the following route, purely for comparison

£87.50 return as per national rails "cheapest" possible fare!!!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

11th January 2008
Depart Chesterfield 10:33
Arrive York 11:42
Depart York 11:54
Arrive Edingburgh 14.24

*All calling points for departing journey*

Chesterfield 10.33
Sheffield 10.54
Doncaster 11.17
York 11.42

York 11.54
Darlington 12.26
Newcastle 12.57
Edinburgh 14.24

Now the way you do it is, you look at all the stations that your train stops at, but please note you are not leaving the train and no change train is required. Your are simply buying two seperate tickets for the same journey. Well in your case three, but anyway.

For example if you were to travel just from Chesterfield to York as above without going on to Edinburgh, the ticket would cost you £19.30 single. But, if you bought a ticket for Chesterfield to Sheffield this costs £3.60. You then buy another ticket Sheffield to York this costs £13.90. Your on the exact same train doing the exact same journey, but buying this way you save £1.80 whilst taking the same journey. It just means that when you depart chesterfield you show the chesterfield to sheffield ticket, then when departing from sheffield towards york you then show the sheffield to york ticket. EASY.

So for the outbound journey my suggestion is buy the following: -

Open single Chesterfield 10.33 - Sheffield 10.54 = £3.60
Open single Sheffield 10:54 - York 11:42 = £13.90

Normally you would do the same for the York to Edinburgh, however it works out substancially cheaper if you buy an advance ticket. Which, must be bought in advanced (duh)
Advanced ticket for York 11:54 - Edinburgh 14:24 = £17 :T:money:a saving of nearly £60

I haven't purchased an Advanced myself in the past however the terms of the ticket as per the website read as follows. To be sure and to make sure you don't miss out I would call National Rail and be sure. To save money don't use the 08457 48 49 50, call 0121 634 2040 and press option 1 for rail enquires.

These tickets are sold subject to availability and must be purchased in advance. Reservations are required for the journey and you must travel on the train shown on your ticket or reservation confirmation. But even so, your onto a winner in any case

Total cost for outbound leg = £34.50:beer:

14th January 2008
Depart Edinburgh 12.00
Arrive York 14.24
Depart York 14.32
Arrive Chesterfield 15.34

Normally we would find out ALL calling points for both trains, however we are going to take advantage of the advanced tickets for the Edinburgh to York section of the journey once again, so there is no further saving other than the advanced ticket.

Edinburgh 12.00 - York 14.24 = £10.65 advanced ticket (Standard Class)
" " " " = £29.20 advanced ticket (First Class)


Also once again we can take advantage of advance ticket buying and for the 14.32 York- 15.34 Chesterfield this time costs......wait for it......£5

Total cost of inbound leg if travelling standard class = £15.65 :T

I hope from the example for the outbound journey between Chesterfield and York that you can now understand how split buying can be advantageous, if not, please say so. :rolleyes:

Now for the savings summary

NATIONAL RAILS PRICE (RETURN) = £87.50
COST FROM DOING THE ABOVE = £50.15

SAVING OF = £37.50
Now that took a while to write, could you buy me a beer with the savings

One things for certain, always be sceptical when something/someone claims to be the cheapest. Hope this helped costingbunny


I WOULD DEFO GET YOU A BEER FOR ALL THE INFO - ONLY EXPECTED A BIT OF ADVICE - YOU STAR!!!! VIRTUAL BEER ON THE WAY - CAN YOU TASTE IT??:beer:

costingbunny_2

NOT VERY UP TO DATE WITH THIS FORUM LARK - JUST TO LET YOU KNOW I HAVE TRIED TO REPY TO YOU BUT IT LOOKS A BIT WRONG - OBVIOUSLY PRESSED WRONG BUTTON!!! dumb !!!! JUST TO REITERATE - REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP ON THIS ONE!:beer:

graham47

Ignore this post !!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's US site ... stick to Martin's recommendations in the site article.

keith4223

:T Thanks Mate thats excellent!!!!

alanrowell wrote: »

Based on a travel date of 15th January, returning 16th January

Durham to Birmingham (sgl) : £13
Birmingham to Northampton (rtn) : £14.30
Birmingham to Durham (sgl) : £13

Total £40.30

indierocker85

costingbunny wrote: »

NOT VERY UP TO DATE WITH THIS FORUM LARK - JUST TO LET YOU KNOW I HAVE TRIED TO REPY TO YOU BUT IT LOOKS A BIT WRONG - OBVIOUSLY PRESSED WRONG BUTTON!!! dumb !!!! JUST TO REITERATE - REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP ON THIS ONE!:beer:

Not a problem :rolleyes:

lightning15uk

can anyone help me there are 8 of us going away for new year 4 adults and 4 children. we do have a railcard, we are going from coventry to rye (sussex) but do not mind which route we take as long as its the cheapest we really do not want to be travelling any more than 6 hours though, did look at cov-banbury that was £38.00 then banbury to rye £80.00 with a group 4 save (goes through london on underground my friend is not very keen on this idea) i know this is good but can anyone get it cheaper depart 30/12 return 02/01 please would really appreciate it thank you:D

dzug

lightning15uk wrote: »

can anyone help me there are 8 of us going away for new year 4 adults and 4 children. we do have a railcard, we are going from coventry to rye (sussex) but do not mind which route we take as long as its the cheapest we really do not want to be travelling any more than 6 hours though, did look at cov-banbury that was £38.00 then banbury to rye £80.00 with a group 4 save (goes through london on underground my friend is not very keen on this idea) i know this is good but can anyone get it cheaper depart 30/12 return 02/01 please would really appreciate it thank you:D

You are not going to get to Rye by any sensible route without going through London. If you don't want to use the Underground then use the buses (£2 each per adult per journey, children free) or a taxi (or 2, as there are 8 of you).

There's probably a route via Reading/Gatwick/Tonbridge or Brighton but it will take an age and won't show up in the journey planner as it's so slow. Try forcing it with a route of Guildford or avoiding London

chris.smith_4

If travelling from the south coast via Haywards Heath or Brighton and going to London Bridge or stations to Kings Cross it is often cheaper to buy a ticket to Haywards Heath or Brighton via Southern Railways and a further ticket on First Capital Connect. This because First Capital Connect offer cheaper fares than Southern on common routes. You can travel earlier since the time restrictions on the second ticket will be more favourable. This also works if you buy a First Capital Connect travelcard, which gives you unlimited travel in London added on.(even on Southern trains in London)

On the other hand, if you are travelling from the Southern or South Eastern Train company areas to other parts of the country it is normally better to try to use one ticket only. This is because these two companies fares are expensive compared to others. For example a single from Lewes to Lancaster can be as low as £18.50 (return £37), whereas a peak return from Lewes to London can cost up to £24 on its own.

bunking_off

chris.smith wrote: »

On the other hand, if you are travelling from the Southern or South Eastern Train company areas to other parts of the country it is normally better to try to use one ticket only. This is because these two companies fares are expensive compared to others. For example a single from Lewes to Lancaster can be as low as £18.50 (return £37), whereas a peak return from Lewes to London can cost up to £24 on its own.

Quite. I just tried the route you wanted on Virgin Trains' website, and it comes out at £73.10 for the four of you if you've got a railcard;

Outbound - Saver Half Return - £45 (£17.45 each per adult, £5.05 for kids)
Coventry dep 0925
Reading arr 1045 dep 1101
Gatwick arr 1230 dep 1242
Brighton arr 1305 dep 1320
Rye arr 1444

Return - Value Adv C - £28.10 (£10.90 each per adult, £3.15 for kids)
Rye dep 0855
Lewes arr 1007 dep 1020
London Victoria arr 1127
London Euston dep 1210
Coventry arr 1313

...which is a price that would be difficult to beat (unless anyone knows better...). Obviously this goes via London, though, on the way back. If you really want to avoid that, there seems to be options going along the south coast to Southampton then straight through to Coventry - but you'd only get a Saver for that, meaning approx £90 total (actually a bit more as the fares go up between your outbound & return)

pompeyrich

Trouble is Bunking Off, there are 4 ads and 4 kids travelling.