cheaper train travel

oldernonethewiser

maxmycardagain said:

prettyandfluffy said:

Going straight to the website of the train operator often gives you better choice of trains and fare options.  Don't forget to look at railcards to see if you are eligible for one.

ive got a bus pass....

Me too, which entitles me to some cheaper fares. 

martindow

maxmycardagain said:

prettyandfluffy said:

Going straight to the website of the train operator often gives you better choice of trains and fare options.  Don't forget to look at railcards to see if you are eligible for one.

ive got a bus pass....

So are you eligible for a Senior Railcard?  That will pay for itself very quickly.

https://www.senior-railcard.co.uk/

MilesT6060842

Research here: https://tickets.railforums.co.uk/ (which is Trainsplit) then buy directly on TOC websites usually works well--although sometimes what trainsplit reports can be fiddly to buy directly.  You can usually buy any ticket on any TOC website, and you may prefer the user experience of one over another.  Although some TOCs do have promo fares only on their own website (LNER, Greater Anglia both do this from time to time).

Coaches sometimes more expensive than trains.

See if there is any "regional" railcard that is useful for you as well as "national" ones including Network Railcard.  Greater Anglia Club50 card is quite useful, for example.

yorkie2

MilesT6060842 said:

Research here: https://tickets.railforums.co.uk/ (which is Trainsplit) then buy directly on TOC websites usually works well#

That's immoral and underhand; if you are going to use Trainsplit to do the work for you, the least you can do is buy the tickets from them. If you put each one in your basket to avoid the finders fee, then fair enough as no-one can stop you doing that; there is no booking fee so it will cost the same as from a TOC site, but at least the site you used is getting some commission.

It is very expensive to run such sites; if everyone follows your advice, everyone will be paying the higher fares charged by TOCs!

--although sometimes what trainsplit reports can be fiddly to buy directly.  You can usually buy any ticket on any TOC website, and you may prefer the user experience of one over another.  Although some TOCs do have promo fares only on their own website (LNER, Greater Anglia both do this from time to time).

TOCs are not supposed/allowed to offer cheaper fares on their own sites; you are right it does happen as part of promotions, but very rarely. The recent GB Rail sale was not done on that basis.

Booking each leg on the relevant TOC isn't really a great strategy; you end up with loads of accounts; if disruption occurs, and you choose not to travel or change your travel plans, then you may find it very difficult to deal with the fallout if your bookings are all through separate sites; the TOCs do not look at split fares, so unless you do loads of searches for each journey,  you are better off using Trainsplit overall.

MilesT6060842

yorkie2 said:

MilesT6060842 said:

Research here: https://tickets.railforums.co.uk/ (which is Trainsplit) then buy directly on TOC websites usually works well#

That's immoral and underhand; if you are going to use Trainsplit to do the work for you, the least you can do is buy the tickets from them. If you put each one in your basket to avoid the finders fee, then fair enough as no-one can stop you doing that; there is no booking fee so it will cost the same as from a TOC site, but at least the site you used is getting some commission.

Fundamentally, train split websites should not need to exist, TOCs should always offer best fare; eventually they will and the trainsplit type business model will go away unless they offer other differentiation of experience. 

And I have accounts (including discount cards) set up on certain TOC websites, and I find it generally easier to stick with existing accounts. 

Also, sometimes I travel for business and my employer has to book my tickets for me (and corporate travel agent won't split unless explicitly told to do so), so I can't use trainsplit for the booking anyway, and that's currently when I use trainsplit the most.