Completely changed train fare structure. How does it affect you?

MSE_Jenny

On Sunday, a new, completely changed train fare structure means some journeys have risen three-fold, though others have got cheaper. We’re hastily updating and researching how the changes impact the Cheap Trains guide, but in the meantime here’s a summary of the main changes. They happen in two stages:

New advance fares - from 18 May

• No more SuperSavers.
  
  From 18 May, all tickets bought up to the day before travel will called Advance tickets. This replaces things like “First Great Western Leisure Advance 2”.
  
  Yet, while the name as changed, as far we can see you’ll still be able to grab cheaper, different priced tickets, the earlier you book. So tricks such as splitting your tickets to cut the price, even though you're travelling on exactly the same train, will still be valid.

• All advanced tickets will now be sold as singles.
  
  It used to be that buying a return ticket could be cheaper than two singles, though many top deals were only available on one-way fares. Now there’s no such thing as an advance return ticket; they are all sold as singles.

• Railcard discounts will be available on all advance fares.
  
  Until now, railcards weren’t valid on certain super-cheap fares. So bizarrely, it was often cheaper not to use your railcard. Now railcards are valid on all advance fares.

New walk-on fares - from 7 September

• New Anytime tickets.

• Currently, the tickets you buy on the day of travel are called Savers, Standard Open Returns and Cheap Day Returns.
  
  After September these will be called Anytime, Off Peak and Super Off Peak. Anytime tickets are the old Standard Open Returns, which let you travel at can travel anytime.
  
  Off Peak will replace Savers which often are not available until after 09:30, i.e off peak. “Super Off Peak” which will be cheaper than Off Peak but with more time restrictions.

PLEASE GIVE US AS MUCH FEEDBACK AS YOU CAN

We’re currently doing some serious number crunching on how the new fare structure will affect cheap train ticket finding. In the meantime, we’d love your feedback on

• Have you gained?
• Have you lost?
• Can you still split ticket on your route?

Jenny

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digitaltoast

Wow - where to start?! I've been working on this over the last couple of weeks, and have amassed a large amount of information and examples.
It started with this blog:
http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/simplified-train-fares-ripoff-scam-price-rises in which I have made a podcast with conversations with ATOC, Passenger Focus and CrossCountry Trains, which then got picked up by the Telegraph who ran this story:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1975998/Train-fare-overhaul-triples-certain-prices.html
and two weeks later, I posted more concrete examples here
http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/more-simplified-train-fare-scams-and-lies

There's a great MoneySavingExpert forum thread already going on precisely this:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=878441

The RailForums have a couple of threads on this subject, and there are some ticketing experts there which might be able to help you:
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?p=217423
Current poll shows only 11% of people in favour of the simplified fares.

Anyway, onto the important bit - money saving! KEEP your tickets if you think they're wrong, CHECK the prices, and when this all gets straightened out, for goodness sake CLAIM! But meantime, it seems you CAN do OK out of this - but beware!
Apparently, the VirginTrains booking site is not "in synch" with the rest of the network - see my blog for more examples with screenshots of how you can use the system to book some tickets which are not meant to be available at that time, and how some are wrongly priced in your favour. But again, ALWAYS CHECK against another site - sometimes, they go the other way too!
Examples:
Newtown > Witley: National Rail = £108, Virgin = £67
Reading > Newtown: Should be £12 each way single, National Rail is showing £21 each way and Virgin is only showing a return at £62!!

At this time, cross check your tickets, and keep ALL tickets for when the correction comes.

WiggyToo

Hi - I used Trainline to buy a tickte yesterday to travel tomorrow, at first the return price was £105 - for an open return, but it did prompt me to try single fares as they could be cheaper. They were £18 each way (for a specific train) - so make sure you check single fares. Also for this train I think the ticket change price is £10 plus the price difference for the fare so still some flexibilky if I need to change and cheaper than £105.

They do however then charge 50p to collect the tiocket at the station and £2.50 to pay by credit card, maybe they always did this.

Cheers,
Wiggy

Peterkin_2

Wiggy - avoid using the Trainline to actually buy tickets. It's good for researching the cheapest fares, but then go to the train operators website to actually purchase. I don't know why the TL think it's ok to charge customers for simply picking up tickets (and yes this is a new thing) but rail companies like East Midland trains don't charge extra (well, they didn't a week ago when I last bought a ticket)

And they send you the nice small train tickets rather than the super large, paper wasting ones the TL does

LindaS

I live in Coventry and commute to London. I'm under 26 so use my young persons rail card to get the semi-flexible return ticket for 24.25.
As of September I can only use the very expensive anytime ticket due to the hours I work. Even the advance tickets are coming up as £29 for one way if I buy a day in advance!

I have thought long and hard about this and have decided my only option is to move.

misterjohn

National Express have the best site for researching fares, as they seem to show all the possibilities for the journey, with the relevant prices. Also, like First Great Western, they don't charge for using your credit card.

susan070571

For the last couple of years we have taken our children to London for a weekend in August. I always buy the tickets in advance (12 weeks) if I can. In these years we have been charged between £33. (bargain) and £45. That is for myself, hubby and either one or both our children, from merseyside, using a family rail card. This year the quote is for £97.00 for 2 Adults & 1 child. Simply put we will drive instead. How many more people will also take this option., either that or stay home.

dzug1

susan070571 wrote: »

For the last couple of years we have taken our children to London for a weekend in August. I always buy the tickets in advance (12 weeks) if I can. In these years we have been charged between £33. (bargain) and £45. That is for myself, hubby and either one or both our children, from merseyside, using a family rail card. This year the quote is for £97.00 for 2 Adults & 1 child. Simply put we will drive instead. How many more people will also take this option., either that or stay home.

12 weeks is far too early to book these days - fares are often not released until much nearer the date.

On your route 11 July is as far ahead as you can book at the moment - 24 May (yes, May) for Saturdays and 29 June for Sundays. (This info is nearly a week old but won't have changed dramatically)

So you could well do as well as previous years if you wait - and you've always the car option if things don't work out.

dzug1

LindaS wrote: »

I live in Coventry and commute to London. I'm under 26 so use my young persons rail card to get the semi-flexible return ticket for 24.25.
As of September I can only use the very expensive anytime ticket due to the hours I work. Even the advance tickets are coming up as £29 for one way if I buy a day in advance!

I have thought long and hard about this and have decided my only option is to move.

It may be worth checking out fares via Leamington - takes a bit longer though.

gwynmac

rip-off changes, up 44% from Hartlepool to London. Thanks Grand Central Railways, over-60s return was £34, has now jumped to £49. Can anyone beat this extortionate rise of 44%?

trainuser

Hi,

Not posted before so hope this is right.

I use the train a lot and met a very nice man doing a ticket inspection on the train. Basically the price of a ticket from Sutton Coldfield to Matlock was £17.80 last week then went up in price overnight to £30.
When complaining to the ticket seller the comment in response was "well use your car then" (very environmentaly sound comment.....).
However, the more friendly and perhaps knowledgeable train man suggested an alternative of buying two tickets instead.
1. a ticket from Sutton Coldfield to Duffield (on the same line as Matlock)
2. a ticket from Duffield (which you can buy in the relative comfort of the train, if you don't want to waste time in the morning at the ticket office/machine) to Matlock.

The grand total of those two tickets, but doing the exact same journey at the same time, comes to £16.

Yes, so instead of £30 the same journey costs you £16.

Crazy, but it takes time and nice friendly train staff to find these things out!

These train prices are disgraceful! The friendly train guy said that in reality the only way anything will be done about it is if train users complain massively about it to the train companies, government and through sites such as www.bettertransport.org.uk