Can't find cheap train tickets Leeds->London!

dan_m2k

Hi all,

First time post, so please be gentle!

We need to get down to London on the 21st December 2007 from Leeds, and doing a quick trawl of GNER, TheTrainline.comand nationalrail.co.uk can only find us 2x adult tickets for £67 which seems like a lot for so far in advance.

I've read around the forum, and tried virgintrains and midlandmainline as lots of people rave about the fares they've got there, but no fares are coming up for either of these - only the £67 GNER one is coming up....

Any advice greatly appreciated on how to get this down a bit (or how to 'split ' the tickets to get a cheaper fare).

Also, we need to come back some time after the 27th Dec (exact date unknown) - any pointers where we should be looking for cheap 'open' (i.e. flexible date) ticket - if there is such a thing??

Best regards
Dan

Dylanwing

Flexible, and near Christmas - Not a good combination.
Could you use Megabus? Slower, but a lot cheaper.

RedBern

Dan - it may be that they haven't released their 'cheap' tickets yet. if you ring them they claim tickets are released 12 weeks in advance but that isn't true. It is more like 8 or 9 in some cases.

However, break the journey up a bit - not sure of the route but does it go leeds - birmingham - birmingham - london. (geography not my strong point)

Also, when I had problems a couple of months ago - someone sent me a link for I think it was scotrail and they didn't charge an admin fee to book online which was another couple of quid saved over the trainline booking fee.

You could also try ringing national rail enquiries - they are sometimes helpful.

dzug

Cheap fares have been released for your outward date (from £11.25) but not the return. Maybe be a bit more flexible on your times to get that £11.25?

If you want a flexible return though you are going to have to pay the high walkon fare - or buy a single out and risk no cheap fares being available when you want to return.

WiseInvestor_2

Try splitting the journey at Grantham - recent prices coming up as £9 per sector

SuperSaverSue_2

try trainandbus.com , I got a ticket for a 4hr train journey for £13 each way.

alanrowell

I don't know which website you are looking at but the GNER website gives several trains on the 21st for £10 one way and it's extremely hard to find a train after 8:30am that day where the cheapest ticket is more than £17.80

NOTE USE THE GNER WEBSITE TO GET THE DISCOUNT

dan_m2k

Thanks for all your replies guys, this has really had me scratching my head!

alanrowell....I must be looking at the wrong website - on GNER I can't find anything below £67 quid - I'm going to gner.com and then using the search panel on the right... is this the right way to go? When I log in after I 'check tickets/availability' it comes up with a list of ticket types but the cheapest one with a radio button to select it is the £67.00 one! The rest of the cheaper fares have empty boxes so I can't select them!


According to nat. rail enquiries, Midland Mainline aren't releasing there tickets until two weeks before on that route (and I'm not that much of a daredevil to wait until then!)

I'd happily take Megabus but the missus isn't keen on ~4hrs on a bus, 1hr on a tube and 9hrs on a plane!

Think I'll have to forget the idea of a flexible return journey!

Thanks everyone

alanrowell

The magic word is SINGLE

You must be trying to book a return ticket as GNER are only booking up to 22nd December & hence you get the bog standard return price

You need to book the tickets as single tickets - above the return price list there is this line - Singles from 10.00For best value fares2 singles could be cheaper>> - click on it to get the SINGLE prices. As you can't book beyond the 22nd currently I would book the outward leg now while you can get the cheap prices, then book the return journey in a couple of days time when it becomes available

Note the £10 fares have now gone for trains before 13:00

dzug

dan_m2k wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies guys, this has really had me scratching my head!

alanrowell....I must be looking at the wrong website - on GNER I can't find anything below £67 quid - I'm going to gner.com and then using the search panel on the right... is this the right way to go? When I log in after I 'check tickets/availability' it comes up with a list of ticket types but the cheapest one with a radio button to select it is the £67.00 one! The rest of the cheaper fares have empty boxes so I can't select them!


According to nat. rail enquiries, Midland Mainline aren't releasing there tickets until two weeks before on that route (and I'm not that much of a daredevil to wait until then!)

I'd happily take Megabus but the missus isn't keen on ~4hrs on a bus, 1hr on a tube and 9hrs on a plane!

Think I'll have to forget the idea of a flexible return journey!

Thanks everyone

If you want cheap fares, book singles as Alanrowell suggests. You will be tied to the trains you book.

If you want flexibility you will have to pay the £67 fare. It won't tie you to a specific train, either outward or return, but you will have to travel off-peak. The reservations that come with it if you buy on line can be ignored, but you don't need to book it - you can buy it on the day. Travel out on the first day it is valid, return within a month.

dearbarbie

If you want to get several singles, try change at Doncaster perhaps. Also depends on times. Are you guys eligible for Young Persons' Railcards? You'll get 1/3 off the fares for £20 per year if I remember right, so you will basically get it for free and then be able to save on any more journeys you make across the year.