Excuse me, but
WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope to be making the trip from Todmorden to Exeter by train several times a year in future so I have been researching the fares. A friend of mine ('bubble' pal, as was) is here and going off to visit her brother in Exeter tomorrow. She told me that she was intending to travel via Manchester and would be spending well over £100 return, even using her railcard. I told her that it was cheaper than that, quicker, and more convenient to go via Leeds. She disagreed, having checked the fares previously. This led to further research and discovery of some astoundingly stupid results...
- Off-peak return from Leeds to Exeter: £110.65
- Make an extra journey from Hebden Bridge then catch the same train from Leeds... Also £110.65!
- Extend the journey to Leeds by getting on the train one stop earlier, pass through Hebden Bridge, then catch that same train from Leeds to Exeter: Only £97.80!!!
So, significantly extending the journey from case (1) to case (2) costs
nothing. Extending that journey even more [case (3)]
saves £12.85!
It seems impossible that this can be true, but given the stupid fragmented railway system that we have in the UK, it probably
IS! I am walking down to the station with her later so we will find out for sure then. If it isn't true, then the online ticket booking systems are wrong - we both checked prices using multiple sites.