12 week "rule" for train fares ?

deejaybee

Hi,

I recently had an email reminder that the cheaper train fares were now available for a journey i had planned.

From Edinburgh Waverley to Totnes on 4 Sept leaving 09:00 ish.

Unfortunately the fare for direct train i wanted to use has not been reduced ( still showing as 291.95 for 2 adults & 1 child with Family & Friends Railcard )

Would there be any possibility that this fare may be reduced, even though we are into the " 12 week before " period ?

There is a cheaper alternative @ 164.60 which involves going to Kings Cross, London, Tube to Paddington, then from Paddington to Totnes.

Would the cost of the Tube journey be included in the train ticket ? and what sort of time/distance would it take ? - are the Kings X and Paddington Tube stations actually same location as the overground stations ?

The overall journey via London is actually a shorter time overall than the direct route, just seems a bit of a faff especially after a long flight ....

Advice appreciated, Ta.

martindow

The 12 weeks is not set in stone so it could be that in a few days cheaper fares will appear. Some companies announce that they are selling advance tickets up to a certain date on the twitter feed so it may be worth looking there.

Would it be Crosscountry for the direct train? I've found that they do not offer very good fares for Reading to Manchester and the cheapest tickets are always via London. The tube fare is included.

tim9966

You can make the trip cheaper splitting your journey into sections. I've got it down to £72.90


You could get the 10.51 to Birmingham New Street with Virgin at £39.25, then the 16.10 from Birmingham New Street to Cheltenham for £10.55. Finally going Cheltenham to Totnes at 16.51 (this involves staying on the same train at Cheltenham, but you may need to swap seats) costing £23.10.


If you do go via London yes the tube is included, and yes the stations are on the same site, but will involve a short walk as both stations are very large.


The Cross Country direct train with no changes doesn't go the shortest route which is why it's quicker via London.


The £291 price is the one the day price you would also pay if you just turned up.

deejaybee

martindow wrote: »

The 12 weeks is not set in stone so it could be that in a few days cheaper fares will appear. Some companies announce that they are selling advance tickets up to a certain date on the twitter feed so it may be worth looking there.

Would it be Crosscountry for the direct train? I've found that they do not offer very good fares for Reading to Manchester and the cheapest tickets are always via London. The tube fare is included.

Hi Martindow - yes pretty sure its Crosscountry.

Will keep checking daily, I will have some Tesco Clubcard vouchers available around end July, which i could get X 2 value for Red Spotted Hanky, whether i could risk leaving it that long is another matter..

deejaybee

tim9966 wrote: »

You can make the trip cheaper splitting your journey into sections. I've got it down to £72.90


You could get the 10.51 to Birmingham New Street with Virgin at £39.25, then the 16.10 from Birmingham New Street to Cheltenham for £10.55. Finally going Cheltenham to Totnes at 16.51 (this involves staying on the same train at Cheltenham, but you may need to swap seats) costing £23.10.


If you do go via London yes the tube is included, and yes the stations are on the same site, but will involve a short walk as both stations are very large.


The Cross Country direct train with no changes doesn't go the shortest route which is why it's quicker via London.


The £291 price is the one the day price you would also pay if you just turned up.

Hi Tim, cheers for info.

Is that £72.90 price for all of us ( 2 adults & 1 child with FF railcard )

edit ====.> Yes i can see it is !!!! Great stuff