Trouble with National Rail website?

nappy501

Hi Everyone,

I normally look up my fares on the National Rail website. When you have found the tickets you want, you click through to the train companies website to buy the tickets.

For the past month I have been looking up fares to visit my mother. The reason it has taken so long is, the first time the fare listed on National Rail was not on the East Coast webpage, I thought because it was late at night I wasn't seeing it properly. It was also too late to contact either company by telephone. Later in the week I checked, this was also late at night and the same thing happened.

I unfortunately then lost my debit cards, Family Railcard etc. So now the replacements have come and I am trying to book the tickets again. The cheapest listed on the National Rail site is £10.95 x 2 (singles), when I click through to East Coast, trains at that time are not even listed and the cheapest single is £78. The return is over a £100 has anyone else noticed this recently?

I am going to try to ring National Rail and East Coast tomorrow. The cheaper fares are going now, so the time when we have to travel is less convenient.

Thank you for your comments in advance.

wealdroam

Not sure what sort of comments you want or are expecting, but just to say that all the train operating companies (toc), and third party sellers, sell the same tickets.

Sometimes a particular toc will sell their own tickets cheaper than elsewhere, and sometimes they have other offers.

If you are able to supply exact details of this discrepancy, then I am sure someone can help explain this.

But without details of dates, times, origin, destination, railcards, type of ticket(s), then it is [STRIKE]difficult[/STRIKE] impossible to advise further.

Humphrey10

Post details of your planned journey, then someone might be able to help you get it cheaper eg split tickets etc.

Have you tried another operator's website, you don't have to use East Coast even if it will be an East Coast train.

I almost never buy Advance tickets, so I'm not 100% sure exactly how it works when redirecting you to a TOC's website, but I've just had a look and when I clicked 'Buy cheapest for £X' it redirected me to Virgin Trains with the cheapest ticket already selected and in the basket. So maybe try clicking the 'buy cheapest' option or selecting Virgin Trains.

daveyjp

I had problems recently with the National Rail and East Coast website - they kept crashing as I went to buy the tickets - used Red Spotted Hanky with no problems.

moonrakerz

I too, had problems a few months ago with fares not coming up on the
EC website.
They were available on FGW and SWT, but when I tried to get them from EC (for the 10% discount) they weren't there !

nappy501

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I didn't explain very well in the beginning. I normally search for my tickets on the National Rail website, I have tried others and they never throw up tickets as cheap as National Rail. I am aware this does not take into account any special offers.

Usually this works and if the train company I am directed to does not have the same price it is not cheaper or more expensive than £5.

When you have selected your tickets on the National Rail website, you click the 'Buy' button and it takes you through to purchase the tickets from a rail company.

My journey is one adult and two children with a family railcard to travel 24th November and return on 29th November from Gainsborough Lea Road to Cuffley. The return fare showing on the National Rail website £66.20 or a single at £10.95 each way.

When I clicked the 'Buy' button it opens another window for East Coast. The cheapest single is £78 and the cheapest return is £79.50.

I also visited Raileasy and another company that I can't remember the name of and they were showing journeys and prices the same as the East Coast website.

So this afternoon I got on the telephone to National Rail, who told me to speak to East Coast web support. I telephoned East Coast web support that told me National Rail was incorrect and all the fares and trains available are listed on the website, so I need to speak with National Rail.

I telephone National Rail again who say the trains and fares are available, would I like them to put me through to East Coast telesales. I say yes if they can book those journeys for me at that price. I was told to give East Coast the train times and fares and they would be able to book them for me.

National Rail connect me to East Coast telesales.

I give all the information I was looking at on the National Rail screen, the woman was able to find the return journey, but was unable to find the outward journey. In fact she tells me there is not a train at that time from Gainsborough to Lincoln (1st leg of a 4 part journey).

In the end I say to her okay then I would like to book a train from Gainsborough Lea Road to Lincoln Central and this is the time of the train. The woman says to me yes I could book that train. So I said to her so you see that train does exists, but you cannot see it for the longer journey why is that. She then says hold the line please. I get the canned music, she comes back sometime later to tell me she can find that journey at the price of £10.95. I was able to book my two singles with plus bus for Cuffley.

So there was nothing wrong with the National Rail website, it is all the others. I have not paid £79.50 for the return ticket, but I spent 30 minutes on the telephone. They were all 0845 numbers. I am so glad this isn't normally a problem.

Thank you for your comments.

nappy501

Humphrey10 wrote: »

Post details of your planned journey, then someone might be able to help you get it cheaper eg split tickets etc.

Have you tried another operator's website, you don't have to use East Coast even if it will be an East Coast train.

I almost never buy Advance tickets, so I'm not 100% sure exactly how it works when redirecting you to a TOC's website, but I've just had a look and when I clicked 'Buy cheapest for £X' it redirected me to Virgin Trains with the cheapest ticket already selected and in the basket. So maybe try clicking the 'buy cheapest' option or selecting Virgin Trains.

Thank you for your response. I am normally try station to station first. The tickets came up at £10.95 so I didn't try anything else.

If local station to local station is coming up very expensive, then I try Retford to Stevenage
Doncaster to Stevenage
Retford to London King's Cross (train stopping at Stevenage)
Sheffield to London King's Cross
Lincoln to Stevenage
Lincoln to London King's Cross.

As you say the cheapest ticket you see is normally available from the train company. I did look, but there is not an option to choose a different train company from the National Rail website. When we go to Wales it takes us through to Arriva. On other journeys I have been taken through to Cross Country Rail.

nappy501

daveyjp wrote: »

I had problems recently with the National Rail and East Coast website - they kept crashing as I went to buy the tickets - used Red Spotted Hanky with no problems.

Thank you for that, I have not heard of Red Spotted Hanky. I got the message:
Sorry, this railcard is not valid for the selected number of passengers

Not sure what I have done wrong, 1 adult, 2 children with a Family & Friends railcard.

So I changed it to 1 adult, no children, no railcard and got this message?
No fares have been found for your selected service.

nappy501

moonrakerz wrote: »

I too, had problems a few months ago with fares not coming up on the
EC website.
They were available on FGW and SWT, but when I tried to get them from EC (for the 10% discount) they weren't there !

Thank you for your response, but I am lost on the abbreviations?

AirlieBird

nappy501 wrote: »

As you say the cheapest ticket you see is normally available from the train company. I did look, but there is not an option to choose a different train company from the National Rail website. When we go to Wales it takes us through to Arriva. On other journeys I have been taken through to Cross Country Rail.

You can. It isn't so obvious since National Rail updated their journey planner recently. You have to click on "View summary" at the top of the page. On the next page below the "Buy Now" button there is a link to buy from other providers.

The problem is likely to be the result of the different algorithms between National Rail and WebTIS (the software which East Coast use). NR recently updated their software to include slower journeys in the results. I don't know the time you are travelling, but on a random search for that date I see that the cheapest fares I'm presented with are for slower trains: e.g. there are two journeys departing 11.48 with the cheapest being the second and slower of these two journeys. Nearly all, if not all, booking engines will only show the fastest journeys by default. To get the fare you wanted in East Coast you would have likely had to click on "show slower routes" on the left of the screen, or 'manipulated' your request in the via/avoid box to force a particular route.

Humphrey10

nappy501 wrote: »

Thank you for your response, but I am lost on the abbreviations?

FGW = First Great Western
EC = East Coast
SWT = South West Trains