GNER - Don't buy a return!

isasmurf

GNER are changing their fare structure for all journeys from 25th September. Out go ALL Discount Advance Purchase returns. If booking online the cheapest return ticket you will see will be the Saver ticket. However, you can get a 'return' cheaper.

How? GNER have replaced their Discounted AP returns with Discount AP single tickets. So to get a cheap return you will have to click on the link that takes you to the single ticket page.

GNER say they are introducing this to make it "simpler" for customers and to enable customers to mix and match outward and return fares to match their time of day.

A word of warning though, unless the online booking system is still having some problems with the new fares the discount singles seem to be even rarer than the old return tickets. I've looked at a number of days and times well into the future over the past hour or so and can only find 2 or 3 trains a day where there is a cheap single available.

michaels

I found this for a trip form Watford to Bolton recently (Virgin Trains?) The booking website brings up return prices by default (193 quid ouch) but if you lick to look at single fares thee is a ticket you must purchase by 1800 the day before travel that costs 54.50 each way - saving a noticeable 84 quid!!! These tickets can also be cancelled for a full refund up to the day before travel too.
So it looks like this return thing is a common ripoff to take advantage of the structure of the fare booking websites and people natural assumption that a return will always be less than 2 singles.

As it happens I am going to drive anyway as hiring a car and the petrol will cost me less and take about the same time by the time I have to get to the station at each end.

Roland

I was looking for a day return from Leeds to Kings Cross for next month. The cheapest return fare quoted on the return fare page of TheTrainLine was £84.00 for the trains I wanted to travel on. Returning on the next train would have reduced this to £68.90.

Switching to the single fares page produced 4 cheaper return fares displayed as 2 singles each way. These included a double £9.50 which I booked at the station as a £19.00 return.

sawanderer

Link to HALF PRICE TRAIN TICKETS thread on the Grabbit board

Buy UK rail tickets with 50% off - book by 1st September.