Train fare costs

Try using this - you might get cheaper tickets
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http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/split-cheap-train-tickets/

I paid over 100 quid to go from London to Newcastle, most seats were reserved so I stood the entire way. Great stuff.

I assume the reserved seats were all taken up ?

If there is no one using a reserved seat and there are no others unoccupied then use it.
Many passengers reserve a seat then sit somewhere else.
They only reserve a seat to guarantee getting one.

Gin thanks I shopped around for a couple of hours I have used the splitter before with good savings ...alas this one was only £4.80 cheaper

They are all the same really travel at an inconvenient time and save a few ££

I need to find www.faredodger.com

I quite like travelling by train but I can't get my head around how expensive it is despite still receiving a public subsidy.

It's virgin on the ridiculous

I was going to use them but supposedly they were booked for a corporate Christmas function, who were supposed to get on in a few stops so I didn't bother.

The whole process of booking tickets is a mess.
I just checked an off peak return ticket from Wolverhampton to Stansted Airport for Friday 7 November £64.90

I removed the return journey and it came to £28.

This is with the aid of a computer. What chance has anybody got if they're not savvy  or haven't got internet access?
You still pay through the nose if you know what you're doing.

^I should add that the return journey was for the following Monday.

Cheltenham to Edinburgh costs silly money. 100 quid or something like that.

But if you have your wits about you the best thing to do is to split the journey up. Example - Single to Birmingham is 8 quid. Birmingham to York 20 quid. York to Edinburgh the same. You dont have to change at the stations the train goes direct to Edinburgh but you save yourself 50 quid just by getting 3 tickets instead of one.

But if you have your wits about you the best thing to do is to split the journey up.

I heard this recently on the radio. Absolute madness

It might well be but if it saves you 50% of the original train fare then it's a worthwhile exercise.

I agree. What's madness is the ticketing and price structure

The madness is people paying extortionate prices. And no matter how many value seekers there are, there's even more eejits..

How do they justify the xmas ticket rip off? A lad at work travels from K Cross to Newcastle ca. 8 times per year to watch the footie.
For xmas week, the prices double.

The one and only way to sort this out is for a prolonged boycott, hitting them straight in the wallet is the only thing they understand like any business, otherwise they will continue to extract as much money out of their customers as they think they can get away with for as long as they can get away with, of course the likeliness of a long term boycott is slim considering how much people rely on trains, still if you can use any alternative you should

How do companies like the Trainline.com make their money? Their adverts are on all the time.
I assumed they just work out all the loopholes,, and add a percentage, but every time I've
checked them out they are always exactly the same price as the train companies.

Commission? Avertising?

2nd biggest ripoff in the UK (behind energy). If you travel any kind of distance, its cheaper to fly - that's just madness

You get £10 at Red Spotted Hanky for £5 of Tesco Clubcard vouchers. Tickets are cheap there as well.

I just did a little exercise on the nationalrail website.

Wolverhampton to Blackpool.
Off peak return leaving on the 7 Nov returning on the 14 Nov = £50.50

Two singles = £40.

National Express coaches would want £31 for the trips.
11 hours traveling time for the two trips on the coach against 4hours 49mins on the train, making the train far more appealing.

The one and only way to sort this out is for a prolonged boycott, hitting them straight in the wallet is the only thing they understand like any business, otherwise they will continue to extract as much money out of their customers as they think they can get away with for as long as they can get away with, of course the likeliness of a long term boycott is slim considering how much people rely on trains, still if you can use any alternative you should


Best doing one those flash mob thingys.  Get a load of people to jump on the train before departure without paying...then the train company will have to call the police to get them off the train making the whole train network in gridlock..

i saved £20 by 'getting off' at Coventry and 'getting back on' the train again

split journeys are often cheaper

Always gets me when people book tickets online.
for a normal day ticket from my station to london
They normally end up paying more via trainline etc etc
as they charge a booking fee

Yes coach that is possible the only reg is the train must
stop at the station you get the split at,you dont need to get off the train.

thats true you don't witham - but used the getting off theme as a joke - because the system is the joke

just prays on the not so intelligent  everytime - and that's not fair , they work just as hard ,if not harder than anyone else to start with    - there will one day be a law against it -

hope so,imo due to privatisation the left hand don't know
what the right hand is doing.
checked other day Witham-Milton K peak £49.90 return
from Stratford its £44.90 i think yet from Brentwood
it;s £42 (stratford is the nearest)

Stratford from Witham peak £30.00
Brentwood is £15 no idea the price setters

buying a "two together" railcard for £30 would have saved £44 on the fare so a net saving of £14 on this trip plus a third off any future ones in the next year

Got a phone call late on the Monday night before Royal Ascot this year. A mate was hosting a corporate event and had had a drop out, asked me if I wanted a free day at the races. The day return from York was £200 and I'd be lucky to have seen the last race given the return times. Assuming my usual success rate of backing at big flat meetings, my free day out would've cost me in the region of a monkey. I passed.

My boy Liverpool to London..............standing all the way.............I got him to write in asking In the event of a crash would this affect his safety & if so how.........................Im shure he got a freeby..............

"you dont need to get off the train."

True, but you often have to move seat

Too many people scuttling round britain on trains using railcards; forces, OAPs, disabled, students. Distorts the market, contributes to overcrowding, and is punitive on those who don't qualify who have to pay 50% more for the same outcome. Also punitive on forces, OAPs, disabled and students who don't like trains or make journeys between places that don't have them
The nanny state should cut the administration of these subsidies, stick the money equivalent on the relevant wages, benefits and loans, and let the market decide.

Free up a few seats for the rest of us.

Adding an extra carriage seems the most logical solution?

Split fares...I had the joy of doing such a thing in 1990...24 years ago (25 in Jan)

Travelled on an overnighter to Aberdeen. Return journey was Aberdeen to Glasgow. Glasgow to over the border and home. I worked it out it would be cheaper to buy split tickets, so I bought tickets from Aberdeen to Dundee, Dundee to Glasgow. The train pulled into Dundee on the way to Glasgow, i never got off the train, just carried onto Glasgow.

WALOFS

P.S. I had a seat on all journeys.

What u going to see Virgin Cars or Bikes ?

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http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/FAQ/Why-cant-you-just-put-an-extra-carriage-on/

Adding more carriages makes practical sense, especially if there's a concert on or some other major event. The operators want more subsidy to provide extra carriages though if they are to be made available immediately as they have to come from somewhere else. With the government spending more than it has ever had in its best ever year for a record 11th year in a row, anything increasing govt spending even further has to be done very selectively indeed.

the problem with adding more carriages is a lot of the platforms at smaller
stations are to short and often the last two carriage doors dont open at
certain stations.even more will miss the stop they want not listening to announcements
not to use last two/three carriages.

If you don't like Trainfare, try BusDaq?

it's not all bad.

Last year I got the caledonian flyer ( overnight from London Euston to Inverness) with a sleeper berth for £19

tbf - for a 50 minute walk ,3.20 return isn't that bad really     

unless you're a very slow walker - then it's a blatant rip off 

wonder what the fares will be on the high speed trains

They'll be pitched high enough to put the plebs off using them you can be sure of that.

i live near manchester and all the train fares i've seen to cheltenham means it is cheaper for me to get to the racing at  leopardstown on ryanair . ridiculous .

3 adults from Derby (Long Eaton) to Gatwick. £509 return! Couldn't believe how high the prices were.

I can fly to the south of Spain and back for a lot cheaper. Something is not right!

Cheers all ...  I thought it was just me being a tight arse again

I shall just stay in my cardboard box then..... rather than try to afford a day out

I get a return from Bristol to Bath quite regularly which is about 12 miles and takes just over ten minutes - the robbing feckers charge £7.20 for an off-peak day return

I presume that it will be a very long time before oyster or a similar system goes nationwide? I think the local borough has to subsidise travel for it to be brought in. My area was brought in last January. I go to Romford ca. twice per month and stay over. I used to have to pay for two singles as you could not get a return that left on a Friday & returned on a Saturday. It used to cost ca. £8.50 each way. After Oyster came in, it's now ca £3.30 one way & £4.40 the other.

they are testing smart cards in certain areas SJ
but how they will work we don't know exactly yet
as different companies have different pricing structures

I think that they are looking at cutting their costs in existing areas rather than expanding nationwide.

There is this one in the south and I see there is a Scottish one as well.
https://www.southernrailway.com/smart-card/

virgin - did you get a "two together" card?  that's about £28 and gets you a third off, so would have paid for itself on that one journey. 
in the South East, get a network card, gets 1/3 off most fares. 
also recommend looking at split journey. 
also plan more in advance, if you know 13 weeks ahead where you'll be going, and check every day to see if advance tickets have been released. 
and book on the individual train websites.  so use virgin / east coast / grand central etc.  they often have their own deals.  often for me it's cheaper to book for instance travelcard to london, and then a single advance ticket, than from where I live.  cambridge I get to with travelcard to london, then open return. 
to oxford I use the network card and plusbus which gets me 1/3 off all day bus pass too

whoops just hit your report button billy

"and the journey back is overnight (8 hours)"

Unreal....how long was the journey there?

3 hours 38 minutes on Google maps.

Don't tell me you are on one of these things.....
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https://dub128.mail.live.com/?tid=cvAAA3EwAAAAAAABHm_MYvvQ2&fid=flinbox

billy hill I tried numerous variables but that was the best price although admittedly I didn't want to buy a discount card as I rarely travel by train, this would have been the first time in 2 years and the time before was probably a decade ago

Instead I'm staying at home - much cheaper

Aunty Post yes that link goes to my Outlook.com