Cheap Rail Travel

[Walter Bishop]

Anyone know of any discounts/codes/vouchers for train travel?

 

I am trying to book 3 adults to london for 6th June.

 

Cheers.

[trotter]

head to thetrainline.com - if ure booking this far in advance u probably won't need a discount - its cheap as chips. I can get home from Hull to Edinburgh for ?23 return

 

HTH

[Forever Maroon]

look at 2 singles instead of a return ticket, it can be up to half the price that way

[Praha06]

Anyone know of any discounts/codes/vouchers for train travel?

 

I am trying to book 3 adults to london for 6th June.

 

Cheers.

 

?27.50 each way per person is the cheapest I can find for that date. That is with National Express East Coast. The ticket is called STD Advance 2.

[John Findlay]

Checkout National Express, online. You can if you time your journey correct get down for ?11.50 each way. Remember when you buy a value advanced ticket you have to travel on the train that the time is stated on your ticket.

Also note once you have bought the advanced tickets and for some reason you cannot travel. YOU WILL NOT GET A REFUND. Advanced tickets are non-refundable.

 

If you cant do it online then go into the travel office at Waverley station especially for National Express as they run it and not us at First Scotrail.

 

 

 

John

[Guest Tynie Bubbles]

look at 2 singles instead of a return ticket, it can be up to half the price that way

 

 

that is quite true

if you go on the national express website, they took over gner, and search for single tickets and just put in the date and times they show a menu of cheap advanced offers.

 

At Waverley I was quoted over ?70 for a return to visit a friend in Doncaster recently, but two singles (on the same time trains I'd been quoted ?70 plus for) cost ?12 there and ?9 back ... you get a discount for booking on line too.

[Guest Freewheelin' Jambo]

Me and two pals are going to the Newcastle v Chelsea game on 3rd May (yes, I would rather be there than use my season ticket at a potential post split fixture). I booked the train tickets through National Express and bought two sets of single tickets for each journey at a total cost of only ?52.15!! Amazing value. We are travelling back on the same day and must stick to the selected trains but that is an incredibly good deal.

 

Try it for London and see how it goes as the earlier you book the cheaper it is and try and book single journey tickets.

[speedbump]

Me and two pals are going to the Newcastle v Chelsea game on 3rd May (yes, I would rather be there than use my season ticket at a potential post split fixture). I booked the train tickets through National Express and bought two sets of single tickets for each journey at a total cost of only ?52.15!! Amazing value. We are travelling back on the same day and must stick to the selected trains but that is an incredibly good deal.

 

Try it for London and see how it goes as the earlier you book the cheaper it is and try and book single journey tickets.

 

Done over, a few of us were at the Sunderland vs Chelsea game. We paid 18 notes each.

[Guest Freewheelin' Jambo]

Done over, a few of us were at the Sunderland vs Chelsea game. We paid 18 notes each.

 

 

We were at the Sunderland v Wigan game this season and paid about ?22 each.

 

Remember the weekend I am going is a bank holiday weekend also.

 

Well pleased with these fares.

[lyonjambo]

does anyone know any codes at all?

I am trying to book a couple of seats up to scaberdeen on friday and the train is not cheap....even NE etc is very expensive! i used to have a sainsburys code that got you ?15 return anywhere but it has stopped now...gutted:sad:

 

will get the bus if needs be, but takes forever!

[Boaby Ewing]

Serious question - why is train pricing such a feckin' mess?

 

The fact that returns are often more expensive is a bit of a joke. As are First Class tickets at times.

 

Would it not be better if ALL tickets were singles like Easyjet and their ilk?

 

It's also often unclear whether tickets are flexible or only for use at a very specific time.

 

Airline pricing isn't ideal, but at least it makes sense - pay a healthy premium for a flexible ticket, travel at a specific time otherwise etc. (with a fair idea of how many people will be on the plane/train).

[Walter Bishop]

?27.50 each way per person is the cheapest I can find for that date. That is with National Express East Coast. The ticket is called STD Advance 2.

 

Would you be able to post a link to this i cant get anywhere near this price!!

[John Findlay]

Serious question - why is train pricing such a feckin' mess?

 

The fact that returns are often more expensive is a bit of a joke. As are First Class tickets at times.

 

Would it not be better if ALL tickets were singles like Easyjet and their ilk?

 

It's also often unclear whether tickets are flexible or only for use at a very specific time.

 

Airline pricing isn't ideal, but at least it makes sense - pay a healthy premium for a flexible ticket, travel at a specific time otherwise etc. (with a fair idea of how many people will be on the plane/train).

 

I will try and answer this as best as I can but, dont blame me if you are more confused than ever. All I can say is that although I work in the rail industry I get confused often myself.

 

Train pricing is such a mess for one simple reason. Government. Although not a nationalised industry anymore, believe it or not it is still heavily subsidised by government from central to local.

 

1. If you travel within Scotland with First Scotrail before 9:15am in the morning then you will pay full wack. E.G. before 9:15am in the morning a return to Glasgow from Edinburgh is ?17.70. A single is ?10.80.

After 9:15am and before 16:30, cheap day travel kicks in.

Glasgow again. Cheap day return is ?9.80. Cheap day single is ?9.70. However you cannot use your cheap day ticket between 16:30 and 18:30 Mon-Fri. Cheap day tickets are valid at anytime on weekends and National bank holidays.

 

2. Now train companies try to entice people to use their services.

First Scotrail have things like. Season tickets. Flexi passes, Groupsaver tickets and family fundays. Details of all are available at stations.

 

3. Then there are railcards. Senior, Young persons, Family and Scottish Youth Railcard. The first three mentioned cost ?24 for one calander year and give the owner 1/3 of all rail prices UK wide. The Scottish Youth Railcard is free but, that comes through the post to those entitled. They come down to the station with the letter they have received through the post and we sort out the railcard. This also gives them a 1/3 of rail prices.

 

4. Long haul carriers such as National Express, X Country, Virgin and First Transpenine Express. Will do things called Advance tickets. Where with First Transpeninne Express you cant get down to Manchester Airport for ?10 one way. What they wont say in their advertising blab is that these prices are for only 10% of all tickets that are available per day.

 

5. Companies also offer cheap tickets for purchasing onlie only. If I had a pound for evertime someone has come to me at a booking office and said it said online I can get it at this price. Yes it did but you have to buy it online there and then. Believe me people do not read and comprehend what they are being told. What I am about to say I would never have dreamed of saying until I started working in the rail industry. The majority of the travelling British public are THICK. They really are. When it comes to using the train they do leave their brains at home.

Some of the things I have witnessed and been asked really do begger belief.

At the risk of upsetting the female of the species. It is 70%-30% in favour of females being the complete idiot when it comes to using the train.

 

Train ticket pricing is over complicated. I empathise and sympathise with the travelling public but, believe me there is so much red tape as to why and I dont see it getting any better.

 

 

 

John