Patfig Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I have just been looking at train tickets for a trip next week and have tried trainline.com, cheaptickets.com and virgin. They are all the same price so I am thinking whats the point in trying to shop around. Does anyone have any inside info on where to get cheap train tickets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I have just been looking at train tickets for a trip next week and have tried trainline.com, cheaptickets.com and virgin. They are all the same price so I am thinking whats the point in trying to shop around. Does anyone have any inside info on where to get cheap train tickets? I sometimes get good deals when served by a helpful person (most of them are) at the advanced tickets sales desk at the train station. They have access to the 'raw booking system' and can see more options, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patfig Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 I sometimes get good deals when served by a helpful person (most of them are) at the advanced tickets sales desk at the train station. They have access to the 'raw booking system' and can see more options, etc... Yeah but that is 15 miles away so isnt an option for me, unless it can be done over the phone. I am really not impressed by the whole online train thingy at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 there is one saving point - trainline (I think) charge a credit card fee, whereas some, National Express trains, and Transpennine (AFAIK) are card-fee-free. One other thing, you may be able to use some of them with cash back sites such as topcashback or nectar if you could be bothered researching, and get a % or two paid back to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patfig Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 there is one saving point - trainline (I think) charge a credit card fee, whereas some, National Express trains, and Transpennine (AFAIK) are card-fee-free. One other thing, you may be able to use some of them with cash back sites such as topcashback or nectar if you could be bothered researching, and get a % or two paid back to you. Thanks Si, yes trainline charge a quid booking fee. I cant be @rsed with all that nectarpoits stuff and just want a train ticket. As they are all promising huge discounts on their respective websites, but all showing exactly the same price, I can only assume it is some huge cartel / scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ayatollah Buggeri Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I think what it is is that with the economy contracting and less people buying full-price tickets for business travel, the train companies are trying to claw some of that money back by reducing the availability of low-cost advance purchase tickets for leisure travellers. I very rarely use trains now - can't stand them - but friends and colleagues who do are all moaning that whereas if you were willing to put up with the inflexibility, return trips from Yorkshire to London were relatively easy to get for £40-50, it is now virtually impossible to go for less than £70-80 unless you're willing to travel at a totally ridiculous time like 5am on a Sunday morning. I recently heard the figure (can't remember where now) that something like 90-95% of full price first-class train tickets are bought by public sector workers travelling on expenses. If that's true, then as the cuts bite the train companies' revenue is going to fall off a cliff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 megatrain Limited places you can get to, but cheap if you can find what you need. Edit: link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I like trains and would use them far more if the prices were economical, transparent and easy to buy even at short notice.......what we have got is a train monopoly, they charge as much as they think they can get away with.....so I rarely use ....how can it be that you can fly 1000 miles for £30 but it costs £40 to travel 200 miles on a slow train....and I am sure you can fit more passengers on a long train than a plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichB Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I have just been looking at train tickets for a trip next week and have tried trainline.com, cheaptickets.com and virgin. They are all the same price so I am thinking whats the point in trying to shop around. Does anyone have any inside info on where to get cheap train tickets? Nah - rent a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RentingForever Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I have just been looking at train tickets for a trip next week and have tried trainline.com, cheaptickets.com and virgin. They are all the same price so I am thinking whats the point in trying to shop around. Does anyone have any inside info on where to get cheap train tickets? It depends where you're based - some of the train companies' own websites often have special deals for tickets that originate in their area. Southern, for example, do a good line in online deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 It depends where you're based - some of the train companies' own websites often have special deals for tickets that originate in their area. Southern, for example, do a good line in online deals. Why should people have to jump all these hurdles to get a cheaper but still overpriced train ticket.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RentingForever Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Why should people have to jump all these hurdles to get a cheaper but still overpriced train ticket.... You shouldn't of course. Such is the madness of the system John Major's government designed. The best system would be a flat rate per mile, set at a higher rate for peak commuting time, and with a discount if you buy an annual card (like they do on the continent). That's what would happen if the system was designed to maximise ease of use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Why should people have to jump all these hurdles to get a cheaper but still overpriced train ticket.... You do have to think about it in order to get a decent deal. It's rubbish I agree. My only advice is to try to book well in advance if you can. Sometimes 2 singles are cheaper than a return and your choice of return time can massively affect how much you pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Fur Q Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I have an account on My Train Ticket and they seem pretty good as I don't get charged a CC fee, even for my AMEX. Though I've never really had a cheap price, I think you have to nominate your travel times and buy the best singles to really save. Booking as far in advance as possible seems to help too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I have an account on My Train Ticket and they seem pretty good as I don't get charged a CC fee, even for my AMEX. Though I've never really had a cheap price, I think you have to nominate your travel times and buy the best singles to really save. Booking as far in advance as possible seems to help too. You could also try to exploit the mysteries of the pricing policies by splitting your ticket: http://splityourticket.co.uk/ . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patfig Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 Hi guys This was my post and after a good few hours browsing the net, as a non train user, I can tell you that the whole thing is far too expensive, and I really am very disappointed. It is cheaper to drive rather than use the train. I would rather use the train from time to time but it aint gonna happen, and to be honest after 6 months back in the UK I am looking forward to leaving again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFancyPants Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I have just been looking at train tickets for a trip next week and have tried trainline.com, cheaptickets.com and virgin. They are all the same price so I am thinking whats the point in trying to shop around. Does anyone have any inside info on where to get cheap train tickets? Book -well- in advance. For my route, Derby => St Pancras that I do every week. Travelling during peak time you can get tickets on the day for £160 return. Booking less than 2 weeks in advance you can forget about any kind of discount. After a month in advance I can usually get the cost down to about £100. So still worth doing, but even the discounted price is pretty extortianiate! Its either that or the National Express (which takes 4hours). Shafted both ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patfig Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 Book -well- in advance. For my route, Derby => St Pancras that I do every week. Travelling during peak time you can get tickets on the day for £160 return. Booking less than 2 weeks in advance you can forget about any kind of discount. After a month in advance I can usually get the cost down to about £100. So still worth doing, but even the discounted price is pretty extortianiate! Its either that or the National Express (which takes 4hours). Shafted both ways. Shafted............ good analysis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I can tell you that the whole thing is far too expensive, and I really am very disappointed. It is cheaper to drive rather than use the train. Cheaper to fly to Belfast than to take the train to London. A railcard can help if you plan to travel at least few times per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Journey I sometimes do is Manchester to Penrith. 10 years ago there was a reasonable chance of getting it for £10 return, without having to book massively in advance. I found that was reasonable. Now the last time I looked I worked out that you could possibly do it for more than twice that if you were very, very lucky. OK, fuel prices will probably affect trains too (the whole journey is diesel because of a stretch without wires), but it's crazy that it's still cheaper for a person on his own to drive, ludicrously so if you can't find the gold-dust rare cheaper tickets. And to cap matters the trains have got far worse with the supposedly "modern" (== undersized, overcrowded, cramped seating) rolling stock. 10 years ago it was a proper full-sized train. Last time I went it was a 3-car DMU. Forget modernising the rail network, simply winding it back 100 years would be a big improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Its either that or the National Express (which takes 4hours). Shafted both ways. You can meet the sane people on the bus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thombleached Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I can get a first class ticket from lichfield to euston for 23 quid if I book a month in advance, (it's 12 quid for a standard return) How is that not a bargain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Hi guys This was my post and after a good few hours browsing the net, as a non train user, I can tell you that the whole thing is far too expensive, and I really am very disappointed. It is cheaper to drive rather than use the train. I would rather use the train from time to time but it aint gonna happen, and to be honest after 6 months back in the UK I am looking forward to leaving again. for an optimistic view of the railways: www.seat61.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 for an optimistic view of the railways: www.seat61.com Excellent site. That's where I discovered back in 2007 I could travel London-Amsterdam at under £100 return fare (and it's still in that ballpark - though I prefer to take the overnight ferry and pay the extra for a cabin, so it's actually losing me less time than flying or even the eurostar). Or just last year, that I could travel Plymouth-Dublin for £30.50, including the ferry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saving For a Space Ship Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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