Traveling by Train.

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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Sweep
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Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by Sweep »

Yes, I knew that there was an option.

If I click that with no machine near me, that is when presumably it offers the miser option :)
Sweep
Bicycler
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Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by Bicycler »

It is automatic. The booking system knows where tickets can be collected. If the departure station has not got a machine where you can collect tickets then it will offer the post option for free
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East Coast.png (3.35 KiB) Viewed 795 times

If it has a collection machine the post option will show a £1 fee:
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EC2.png (2.44 KiB) Viewed 795 times
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Sweep
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Location: London

Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by Sweep »

Thanks.

Since you are cleary an expert on all this I wondered if you had any top tips (maybe small number of bullet points) bicycler for getting cheap tickets?

Apart from split ticketing of course or just booking three months ahead.

Any truth in something you hear sometimes, that particular days of the week are cheaper?

I remain puzzled by my £16 relatively-late-booked Christmas Eve ticket London to rural Lancashire.
Sweep
Bicycler
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Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by Bicycler »

Even better - I had an inkling that one or more of the train companies still offered free ticket postage on all tickets regardless of collection facilities and it seems at least First Transpennine Express and First Great Western do so they are the ones to use if you want 1st class post.

No special tips really. With Advance tickets the key is to travel at less popular times, be flexible with travel times, book early and try out different routes and combinations of split tickets. Things can get more complicated with Off Peak and Anytime tickets because the greater flexibility of route choice and the ability to break your journey (http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.ph ... ostcount=9) can allow people to take advantage of the inconsistent pricing of tickets. All very geeky! Most of the time the best option is just to get Advance tickets if available. Those aged 16-25; 60+; mature students; disabled people; families, couples and friends travelling together should consider whether a railcard makes sense. If the ticket(s) for the journey and any others in the next 12 months come to more than £90 you will probably make a saving.

Train companies choose how they price and allocate Advance tickets and they do use these to fill up trains at inconvenient times. Often the best fares can be had for night journeys. As you have discovered these are often still available in the days before travel. There is often a tier of Advance fares for a journey (say £10, £15 and £20) each is limited in number and the cheapest ones get sold first - that explains why you see different Advance fares for the same journey. You'll be pleased to know that £16 is the lowest tier of Advance ticket for that journey to "rural Lancashire".

I'm guessing Clitheroe :)
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RickH
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Joined: 5 Mar 2012, 6:39pm
Location: Horwich, Lancs.

Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by RickH »

If you have a change of train on your journey, I've found it is often worth checking what the fares for the individual legs booked separately would be (for the same trains if it is cheaper ticket). For instance - I've found that not having the leg from Bolton to Manchester, which is £3.80, as part of a single ticket can often reduce the fare for the main journey substantially, often by £10 or more.

Another oddity I've found in recent months is that a return from Wigan to Ellesmere Port is £5 cheaper than a return from Wigan to Chester - even though going via Chester is a legitimate way of getting to Ellesmere Port (the alternative is via Liverpool). As my usual destination is between Chester & Ellesmere Port, I usually get the ticket to EP but only get the train as far as Chester and ride from there (going to EP is 2 extra trains taking an additional 1/2 hour leaving me no closer to my final destination).

Rick.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
Bicycler
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Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by Bicycler »

Using several tickets to make up your journey is the "split ticketing" which sweep and I were on about upthread. Actually you don't have to split them where you change trains, it's perfectly valid to travel on a train going from A to B to C using a ticket from A to B and another from B to C (as long as the train actually stops at B). That gives you a few more options for splitting.

The Ellesmere Port ticket you mentioned is a good example of what I was referring to above about how you can take advantage of the flexibility of Off Peak and Anytime tickets. It is nigh on impossible to offer customers a choice of routes on a single price ticket without creating inconsistencies with other ticket prices. Alighting at a station prior to the destination on the ticket is commonly known as "stopping short" and is permitted on these tickets (unless the ticket specifically excludes a "break of journey").

People should be aware that you are never allowed to do this with Advance tickets . With those you must board and alight at the stations you booked and travel only on the exact train and route you booked. Thinking it's okay to buy a cheaper ticket for a longer journey and just hop off a few stations early is a common (and costly) error people make with Advance tickets
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RickH
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Joined: 5 Mar 2012, 6:39pm
Location: Horwich, Lancs.

Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by RickH »

I realised it was "split ticketing" but it is the simplest form & you don't need to know where the trains you are travelling on actually stop (apart from, obviously, knowing where you need to change).

Rick.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
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Sweep
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Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by Sweep »

Money saving expert recently rolled out this tool.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/split- ... n-tickets/

Note that it works with trainline, which has a poor record from what I remember on cheap tickets, despite what it says.

I did try using it a week ago and found it recommended trains significantly more expensive than my efforts with the East Coast site.

Others may have more joy.
Sweep
ferdinand
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Joined: 31 Oct 2014, 6:59pm

Re: Traveling by Train.

Post by ferdinand »

Having spent two hours on the phone yesterdat trying to book Nottingham to Portsmouth Harbour (for Isle of Wight), dealing with several different bicycle reservation departments of several rail companies, and the national lot, without nailing it down, my top tip is:

- (Possibly) do some online playing around first to find out which tickets are available for your route segments (eg advance), so you know the right suggestions to make.
- Go to your local station at a quiet time, and do the purchase and bicycle reservation bit there via the man who can look up far more at once than you can.
- Take a newspaper just in case.

My little man did it in about 20 minutes, including a return via Canterbury.

I ended up with Advance tickets with reservations for this Thursday £38 from Nottingham to Portsmouth in 2 segments because I wanted an extra hour in London as it is my first cycle-transit.
I may have saved £10 by booking 2 months ago.

Ferdinand
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