London penzance

aussierugbyfan

hi were travelling from australia and dont understand your rail system. what is the cheapest way to travel in first class/ business class? We will have luggage , does it go to storage or do we keep it for the trip. We have been to different web sites and the prices vary dramaticalyy feel stupid but just dont get it!

dzug

aussierugbyfan wrote: »

hi were travelling from australia and dont understand your rail system. what is the cheapest way to travel in first class/ business class? We will have luggage , does it go to storage or do we keep it for the trip. We have been to different web sites and the prices vary dramaticalyy feel stupid but just dont get it!

The cheapest way to travel on long distance trains is to buy advance purchase single tickets which go on sale a maximum of 12 weeks before the date of travel - often less.

There's little point in going to different websites - they all offer the same tickets at the same price. Prices vary dramatically because:

Walk on tickets are top price and can be bought at any time up to departure. You don't have to use the train booked. If you don't travel you can get a refund. They usually come in peak and off peak versions

Advance purchase tickets are a lot cheaper but you can only use the train booked and refunds are restricted or non-existent. They come in various price bands which are all put on sale at once - obviously the cheaper ones sell out first. So if there are both £30 and £40 tickets available for your train only a fool would buy the £40 one. They buy an identical seat with identical service.

For your journey if you can get it you want a 'Firstminute leisure 1st E' - (£46) - ticket. (or D-C-B-A in that order at ascending prices if the Es have gone/never existed). If you are prepared to consider standard class fares are from £15. Different rail companies have different names for these tickets but the concept is the same

Luggage travels with you - possibly in racks at the end of the carriage. 'Checked' baggage is an unknown concept

Kez100

Not the cheapest fare but you can take the sleeper from London to Penzance most nights. With a sleeper berth cabin you will get a bit more space to put luggage - although they aren't amazingly big, still better than a seat.

amcluesent

Rail travel in Britain is very expensive. You can get the prices of return (or two singles, often cheaper) from www.thetrainline.com. The earlier you book, the cheaper the tickets but you often won't be able to change train time without paying a penalty. Also, if you are travelling on discounted 'advance' 1st class tickets, you generally won't be allowed into the 1st class lounges at the major rail stations which are kept for (business) people travelling on incredibly expensive 'open' tickets. Many people in Britain use 'budget' airlines like EasyJet and RyanAir to travel longer distances, as they are much cheaper than trains.

1st class (there is no business class on trains) is often cheaper at weekends and 'standard' class passengers can upgrade for a fee. That means that Sat/Sun 1st class is likely to having screaming children, youths with MP3 players etc. That said, standard class at weekends is often packed with drunks and is intolerable.

1st class in on the primary rail links is separate carriages, sometime with free food, Virgin Trains are best for this. On rural lines, "1st class" is just a small section in one carriage, perhaps with better seats but not much else. On these trains, unless you are travelling at the same time as commuters, it's rarely worth paying the premium for 1st class since you can rarely even reserve a seat.

NB the punctuality of British trains is awful, especially at weekends due to 'engineering work' so leave masses of time for making connections. The toilets on British trains are often broken.

moonrakerz

If you intend doing a lot of travel by train investigate how much a travel pass would be - if you purchase these in Oz before you leave they can be very good value.

ticketcollector

Suggest you have a look on over at https://www.britrail.com and look for passes.

A BRITRAIL ENGLAND CONSECUTIVE PASS costs AU$349.00 which is slightly cheaper then the price of a first class single, plus its vaild for UNLIMITED first class trips in England for 4 days.

zolablue25

Don't worry aussierugbyfan, I live here and I can't fathom rail fares out either!

ravenk

Gasp !!!!!
You are about to travel on one of the worst and most expensive part of what we call a rail transport system. Great western or what is better know as Late western...run this line or rather dont !
Hire a car instead and drive.
Take my word for it ....I have been silly and used this line in the past, on several occasions. The final straw was when the train broke down and we were delayed for 3 hours. A couple of youth used the time to get drunk and kick off about the delay. The guards had to call the transport police ...
Also you meet some very odd and sometimes dangerous people on this service. One gaurd a few years ago was arreasted for selling drugs to people on one of these trains.

Good luck !

moonrakerz

ravenk wrote: »

Great western or what is better know as Late western...run this line or rather dont !

Funny you should mention that useless bunch ..........................

I checked my credit card account on line this morning and happened to notice that the entry for a ticket I bought last week was from:

"FIRST GREATER WSTN" (my highlighting)

Delusions of grandeur methinks ! What would Brunel have to say ?

ticketcollector

moonrakerz wrote: »

Funny you should mention that useless bunch ..........................

I checked my credit card account on line this morning and happened to notice that the entry for a ticket I bought last week was from:

"FIRST GREATER WSTN" (my highlighting)

Delusions of grandeur methinks ! What would Brunel have to say ?

First Greater Western T/A First Great Western is the official trading name hence the name on your statement.