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MoneySavingExpert.com Cheap Train Tickets Article Discussion
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hortense031187 wrote: »I've just bought some tickets from CrossCountryTrains and my Booking Confirmation page stated:
"You saved £17.80 with thetrainline compared to buying your ticket at the station on the day of departure."
Are all these 'cost-cutting' sites basically just different front ends to the same database, then? The prices I paid for each of three journeys were exactly the same as thetrainline had quoted. Coincidence, or to be expected? The only difference was that CrossCountryTrains charged a postage fee of £1 but no booking fee, whereas thetrainline would have charged £1 booking fee per journey but no postage fee.
You've spotted what people on here are always saying - yes they are different front ends to the same database, and with very few exceptions fares are the same*. The savings thetrainline advertise are comparing on the day flexible tickets with advance inflexible ones.
In fact if you'd bought from another train company (First Great Western, East Coast - doesn't matter which) you'd have got the postage free as well, with no booking fee
* a few companies give discounts on their own trains0 -
Hi guys,
I'm looking for the cheapest one-way from Newquay to Nottingham on September 17. I usually use Megatrains so I wasn't in touch with normal Advance tickets, I briefly saw a £27.50 price for the entire journey but missed it (cheapest now is £45.50).
Do they ever release more cheap advance tickets after the 12 weeks, or is that it? If they do, when are they likely to show up?0 -
Hi guys,
I'm looking for the cheapest one-way from Newquay to Nottingham on September 17. I usually use Megatrains so I wasn't in touch with normal Advance tickets, I briefly saw a £27.50 price for the entire journey but missed it (cheapest now is £45.50).
Do they ever release more cheap advance tickets after the 12 weeks, or is that it? If they do, when are they likely to show up?
Sorry, cannot answer your questions, but...
How about using a mixture of Advance Single and Megatrain?
On your date, dep Newquay 14:58, arr Paddington 20:39. Advance Single = £14.50.
Tube to St.Pancras. £4.00 cash (cheaper with Oyster).
Megatrain to Nottingham are not yet released for your date, but using Fri 20 Aug as an example...
Dep St.Pancras 22:00, arr Nottingham 00:15. Megatrain £4.00 (plus 50p booking fee).
Total = £23.00.0 -
lingojingo wrote: »Hi all you experts - I'm looking for the cheapest tickets between Huddersfield (or Honley) and Swindon, going on Fri Sept 3rd after 16.00 (or 15.20 from Honley) and arriving back by about 23.00 on Sunday Sept 5th
I don't mind what route, the cheapest I've been able to find is £64 for a return via Cheltenham, can't seem to get it any less by split ticketing.
In the past I've been via Manchester & Oxford, Leeds/Wakefield & Cheltenham/Gloucester or London, and Birmingham & Bristol, so am open to any suggestions.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Looking at the dates/times given:
Honley - Sheffield SOR (Anytime Return) £10.40
Sheffield - Swindon MAS (Advance Sgl) £25.50
Swindon - Sheffield MAC (Advance Sgl) £16.50
Total £52.40
Available at Huddersfield Booking Office (or various websites!)0 -
How about using a mixture of Advance Single and Megatrain?
On your date, dep Newquay 14:58, arr Paddington 20:39. Advance Single = £14.50.
Tube to St.Pancras. £4.00 cash (cheaper with Oyster).
Holy cow KeithP, thanks for that! I'd already looked at splitting at Exeter St. Davids (as far as Megatrains goes) - that's already £14.40 now, so I'm basically getting the rest of the journey to London free!
Also a tip - turns out you can book right up to the London rail station you need, then the tube ticket is included (convenient) and cheaper than cash, only £3. Less hassle than getting an Oyster card (I don't get through London often).0 -
charley_17/7 wrote: »Looking at the dates/times given:
Honley - Sheffield SOR (Anytime Return) £10.40
Sheffield - Swindon MAS (Advance Sgl) £25.50
Swindon - Sheffield MAC (Advance Sgl) £16.50
Total £52.40
Available at Huddersfield Booking Office (or various websites!)
Can you help?0 -
I can't seem to find that £16.50 fare you quote.
Can you help?
They do exist, but appear to have sold out!
These are the (non-London) fares:
SWINDON (WILTS). 3333 - SHEFFIELD. 6691
SHEFFIELD. 6691
rte NOT LONDON 700
CC
Ticket type Restrictions (Single/Return)
FOS S 165.00
FOR R 330.00
FSR 2V R 179.10
SOS S 72.00
SOR R 144.00
SVR 2V R 73.00
rte XC &;CONNECTIONS 439
CC
Ticket type Restrictions (Single/Return)
MAS XV S 25.50
MBS XV S 22.00
MCS XV S 16.500 -
charley_17/7 wrote: »These are the (non-London) fares:
SWINDON (WILTS). 3333 - SHEFFIELD. 6691
SHEFFIELD. 6691
rte NOT LONDON 700
CC
Ticket type Restrictions (Single/Return)
FOS S 165.00
FOR R 330.00
FSR 2V R 179.10
SOS S 72.00
SOR R 144.00
SVR 2V R 73.00
rte XC &;CONNECTIONS 439
CC
Ticket type Restrictions (Single/Return)
MAS XV S 25.50
MBS XV S 22.00
MCS XV S 16.50
All those links are on a secure server and of no use to the general public.charley_17/7 wrote: »They do exist, but appear to have sold out!
So you are telling us about tickets that may not be available?
The fares that KeithP quoted were, at the time, those that were available...Anytime Return from Honley or Huddersfield to Sheffield (via not Leeds) = £10.40.
Advance Singles Sheffield to Swindon = £25.50 each way.
Total = £61.40.0 -
All those links are on a secure server and of no use to the general public.
So you are telling us about tickets that may not be available?
The fares that KeithP quoted were, at the time, those that were available...
Surely there is no point in telling the requester about tickets that are not available, is there?
Apologies the formatting/hyperlinks came across unintentionally. At the time of my post, the £16.50 fare *was* available, both on the EastCoast (ATOS Origin) and CrossCountry (trainline.com) website interfaces. Perhaps the original requester purchased them, and that was why it was later "sold out".
CrossCountry, who price and release those tickets, could decide to later release a further batch, it all depends on their commercial whim.0 -
Just did a routine check of Megatrains' site, and found that (apart from a new buggy layout) you can now book way past their usual 1.5 months ahead - they're showing train tickets right up to January next year! (maybe later, I gave up after that).
When did this happen?? Of course I couldn't get my mid-September tickets as cheap as I'd like as they shouldn't have been there yet : (.0
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