Buying cheap train tickets.

[ColinJ]

The whole system is really fragmented and stupid. If you ask for 'the cheapest fare' at your typical railway station ticket office they will usually simply sell you whatever return ticket is available, or perhaps two singles. Quite often that is not the cheapest fare.

I travel back to the Midlands 5 or 6 times a year and it took me a long time to find the cheapest combination of tickets, but even then it varies with time-of-day, day-of-week, how many weeks notice and various combinations of split ticketing, singles and returns.

I prefer to travel via Leeds even though it is slightly cheaper to go via Manchester. On one journey with my bike last year, this is what I had to buy:

Outward
Single from Hebden Bridge to Leeds (no bike reservation)
Advance Return from Leeds to Derby (1 bike reservation each way)
Single from Derby to Coventry, changing at Birmingham (2 bike reservations)

Return
Single from Coventry to Derby, changing at Birmingham (2 bike reservations)
(use the return ticket to Leeds)
Single from Leeds to Hebden Bridge (no bike reservation)

That combination of tickets saved me about £18! How does that complexity encourage people to use the trains?

 

[thomas]

What is your route? You'll often get good deals if you are travelling with one operator. Go for a through ticket, and you'll loose that benefit. So if you do need to change trains, then get two tickets for the route instead.

Or go from, or via a different station. A bit of fiddling might be required.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

It is VERY route specific and VERY time specific, and you do need to book in advance. has to be off-peak for good fares; but off-peak varies by route.
*edit - on some routes also VERY train company specific, if more than one company does the route

There are many many things you can try. I think you live in the same part of the world I do, and I needed to get from my local station to Edinburgh once. Easy ride - it's a £2 single (or less; walkup fare) from my station to the Airport station; and then there are direct trains from there, including some that were on about £15 single at the time. If I wanted a ticket including the £2 bit; the entire fare more than doubled - so: buy two tickets (in this case).

The current route I'm doing fairly often is not so flexible; because of the times I have to travel I'm stuck on a peak train 'anytime return' at £silly money. However, I can buy the return ticket to one station short and then buy a single to get me from there to the last stop; which saves (in this case) about £7.50. (when going the other way I only want to go to the last stop in any case). This is the 'break journey' trick - you can buy two tickets for the same train provided that the train stops at the station you've 'split' at. Only works on some routes though...

I'm pretty good on (some) routes; if you think I can help feel free to PM me. There is a very very long thread on moneysavingexpert about the best way to get cheap tickets but it is a right trawl.

 

[accountantpete]

Also check on the tickets they don't advertise. For example there is a West Midlands Day Ranger which I think costs around £12 and lets you travel anywhere in the region - other regions have similar - as long as the ticket is valid for that train(always ask the conductor,they often allow you on anyway).

There is often a gap between areas but if you know what you are doing you can get a surprising distance at minimal cost if you don't mind long journey times.

 

[MacB]

I always really enjoy the fact that it costs Mikee less to get from Hull to London than it costs me from Farnborough to London.

 

[domd1979]

ry these used them before

http://www.thetrainline.com/buytick....mc_ev=click&gclid=CKaUjqTV8p8CFQqJzAodSBxqYg

Trainline are a bunch of con artists as they charge a booking fee and credit card fee.

www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk is a good a place as any to buy tickets, as they don't make any charges.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Good example of this is (not for long distance, but hey ho) in Greater Manchester there is an evening return ticket. Effectively on my route this means if I leave after ?18h30? I can get home for £1.30 (where I throw away the return ticket); where a single is normally £2.40-ish.

BUT the machine doesn't offer this ticket. It seems only available from the counter! (or perhaps the ticket man on the train, but don't bet on it)

On the Farnborough thing; I once needed to get to Farnborough; went down Manchester -> London Euston, crossed London, ended up at Waterloo (I think, maybe Victoria); now after direct-est route to Farnborough - faced with two ticket options - (1) farnborough; (2) farnborough not via Reading. What/why would I do that? (The not via Reading ticket was cheaper, I might add.)

 

[accountantpete]

On the Farnborough thing; I once needed to get to Farnborough; went down Manchester -> London Euston, crossed London, ended up at Waterloo (I think, maybe Victoria); now after direct-est route to Farnborough - faced with two ticket options - (1) farnborough; (2) farnborough not via Reading. What/why would I do that? (The not via Reading ticket was cheaper, I might add.)

Farnborough is on the main Waterloo -Basingstoke line ie no need to go to Reading! I expect the other option is for other London stations apart from Waterloo.

 

[longers]

Thanks again. The journeys are to a few different destinations. Is there an easy way of finding which operators are running which lines to maybe look at splitting some journeys?

 

[BrumJim]

Post the journey or PM me.
Or try this link:

 

[longers]

That pdf looks perfect to print off. Thanks very much BrumJim.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Some playing about with National Rail is in order. If you put your journey in, go to 'advanced options'; make sure 'show overtaken trains in results' is ticked, then when it shows you the options it also shows you the different train companies (once you've clicked 'details' (and, if you click 'calling points' it also shows you which stops that service stops at)).

It's not perfect though, local knowledge / previous experience will be better.

 

[longers]

I'm going to have to bookmark this as there's a lot to remember!

 

[domd1979]

This is what you need for doing split fares....

http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?FO=1241783&DI=624817

 

[SavageHoutkop]

That is genius! does it include the really-really advance tickets though?