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Split Ticketing: Report successful routes here

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  • h50
    h50 Posts: 2 Newbie
    I'm going to Cornwall for August bank holiday- Return from Tamworth to Penzance would be £110.50

    sorting out the route did take a while and sent me a little insane but in the end I am going from

    Tamworth to Birmingham £5
    Birmingham to Exeter St Davids £31
    Exeter St Davids to Penzance £ £6
    TOTAL £42
    - if I only get one ticket it is £63.50

    On the return journey I go from
    penzance to newton abbot £5.50
    Newton Abbot to Tamworth £ £20.50

    TOTAL £26

    The single fare for that journey is a shocking £94.50

    All in all it is saving me £42.50 that I can spend on cream teas & ice cream!

    Thank you money saving expert.
  • Donniedodo
    Donniedodo Posts: 24 Forumite
    witchypoo wrote: »
    If it helps, I will be picking my tickets up from a FastTicket machine.
    *Edit* just read the rules on 'Advance' fares - states must travel on train you purchased ticket for. But can this be enforced/checked?

    We travel using the advance fares to visit our parents several times a year. Our tickets come in two pieces, one detailing the date, route, price, ticket type and the other with the actual seat reservation and its only that one which has the train time printed on it.

    This is when I buy them through the Ariva trains website. About 3 years ago I used to live opposite the station and would just pop over to buy them, and my train time/seat number would just be written on the back of the 1st ticket in pen. I don't know if they still do that though.

    It does say on the ticket itself it's only valid with the reservation ticket, but if they don't check the reservation, they might only be concerned that you are on the train you paid for, particularly at peak times when they will have countless tickets to check.

    Having said that, we've only ever traveled on the trains we brought the tickets for so I can't comment on the likelihood of getting found out. My cousin traveled without her railcard once, and was made to purchase a new full price ticket there and then when the conductor realised, so it really depends if you want to risk it. :confused: I personally wouldn't because it would cost me an extra £40 on top of the tickets I'd bought and would just pay the extra to travel on the earlier/later train if I really had to.
  • witchypoo
    witchypoo Posts: 461 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Thanks for that
    Hmm I'll look again and see whether it's worth the risk. Probably not as it's £60 for the full journey! Having said that I have never had my reservation checked.
    IAAR/IAAMM/MFTMFAQ/IOA6BH
  • Can anyone help with how to find cheap tickets from Exeter to London on the 4th August, returning on the 8th. The cheapest I can find is £25 return - which is pretty good, but on a tight student budget wondered if there were any further savings!
    Also from London to Edinburgh leaving on the 5th of August, returning on the 8th (in time for the connection back to Exeter!) or indeed a cheap way of getting from edinburgh to Exeter on the same date...

    Thanks!
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 16,269 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    witchypoo wrote: »
    I'm trying to split an upcoming journey, but had a thought and wondered whether anyone would know the answer to this:

    If I buy a ticket online for travel on Sunday at say 08:30 (ie the cheapest single price) but leave on the next train (normally costs more) would I get found out?

    Also with return journey, if I bought the cheap ticket for arrival at 23:00 but travelled two hours earlier could I get away with it?

    I don't know whether it would be detected by the ticket checker (whether times are printed on?) and whether an excuse of "sorry I missed my train" and "I had to catch an earlier one" would wash with them?

    If it helps, I will be picking my tickets up from a FastTicket machine.
    *Edit* just read the rules on 'Advance' fares - states must travel on train you purchased ticket for. But can this be enforced/checked?

    If tickets are checked during the journey (which usually happens but not absolutely always) then yes, you would be caught. As posted already, these tickets come in two parts, one of which is a seat reservation that clearly states which train you should be on. Ticket collectors always make a point of checking both parts.

    I have only once used one of these tickets for the wrong train (I just missed the train on which I was booked). The ticket collector certainly knew what was going on and gave me quite a hard time, although he eventually accepted my excuse and let me off buying a new ticket. He did make it clear that he would have been within his rights to do so and was just giving me a break, and only once.

    In sum: book tickets for the train on which you intend to travel. If you are forced to change your plans then ask the permission of the train manager before you get on the train, and you might be lucky, but before now I have asked to take an earlier train than the one I was booked on and been refused.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 16,269 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Can anyone help with how to find cheap tickets from Exeter to London on the 4th August, returning on the 8th. The cheapest I can find is £25 return - which is pretty good, but on a tight student budget wondered if there were any further savings!
    Also from London to Edinburgh leaving on the 5th of August, returning on the 8th (in time for the connection back to Exeter!) or indeed a cheap way of getting from edinburgh to Exeter on the same date... !

    Check single tickets.

    For Exeter - Edinburgh, try splitting the journey at Birmingham. And remember that Megatrain now link B'ham with Scotland.
  • Hi there

    I travel about once a month to Poole and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheaper way of getting there?

    The route is London Waterloo to Poole.........

    I get the train between 10-11am on Saturday morning and return Sunday evening around 5pm.

    I currently pay £29.95 each for us using my partner's railcard. Has anyone had a better price as I am unable to find one!

    Many Thanks for your help!
  • Similar to below, I found this out as a student years ago, when getting a train from Huddersfield to Gobowen, with a mate going to Shrewsbury, my ticket was about £5 cheper to Gobowen even though i had to change at Shrewsbury and was going further. When the ticket man said it was right, at first he wouldnt change the ticket for a rtn to Gobowen as he said my mate was going to Shrewsbury!!!!

    I now live in Leeds, and have been paying £41.70 rnt to Gobowen (£44.50 is i said Shrews) as there is no advanced ticket prices. But i now make a saving by getting Leeds-Manc rnt, and Manc to Gobowen rtn. Therefore

    Leeds to Shrewsbury (originally £44.50)
    Leeds to Manchester rtn = £16.50
    Manchester to Gobowen (via Shrews) = £17.20 Total journey = £33.70
    Saving = £10.80

    Manchester to Shrews rtn is normally = £23.40 so people of Shrewsbury ask for a rtn from Gobowen and make a £6.20 saving!!

    (This is because Gobowen is supposed to be in Wales- Hope no one for the Rail companies reads this website)


    DomtheMon wrote: »
    One to watch is travelling in peak time. Eg Wrexham or Ruabon to Birmingham cheapday returns not available before 0830. However they are valid from Gobowen (I have no idea why). So buy SDR Wrexham/Ruabon-Gobowen and then a CDR from Gobowen to Birmingham. Same train. Its about £12 instead of £20 if you buy the two tickets.

    Similarly Chester to London or Shrewsbury to London, saver returns not valid early in morning so you buy a standard open which is over £100 in both cases. The Chester or Shrewsbury booking office won't sell you a return (from the stations where savers ARE valid from) early in the morning but you can get round it if you buy the ticket the day before (assuming no cheap advance tickets available) eg Shotton-London (if from Chester) or Welshpool/Gobowen to London (if from Shrewsbury). If they query it you just say you are going in the car to Shotton/Gobowen as applicable and travelling in the morning. However, ensure the journey is possible, eg if you catch the first train from Shrewsbury at 0554 and you hold a ticket from Gobowen and no trains have yet arrived from Gobowen, an enthusiastic 'gripper' might delight in deeming your ticket invalid. However you could catch the 0640 or later trains. From Chester you have more scope as there are early trains from Shotton.
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Can anyone help with how to find cheap tickets from Exeter to London on the 4th August, returning on the 8th. The cheapest I can find is £25 return - which is pretty good, but on a tight student budget wondered if there were any further savings!


    Thanks!

    Try putting in route Honiton - slower but often cheaper.
  • the_gasman_2
    the_gasman_2 Posts: 140 Forumite
    Please, can someone help. First time booking train tickets online...
    I have tickets for the motor show in london, but cant get a reasonable priced return train tickets. I need two return tickets from leeds to london. I have tried all manner of searches including splitting tickets etc, but it says no seats available when i try to book seats. I need to travel on 25th july and return same day after 6ish...
    I can travel possibly on night of 24th july after work, but dont want to arrive in london too late if thats the only option. Am I doing something wrong :confused:


    Can anyone help. want to keep it approx £100
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