What's the secret of cheap train travel?
Discussion
rs1952 said:
The secret of cheap train travel, OP, is to play the buggers at their own game.
Both Slough and Totnes are served by First Great Western. However, buying a ticket from one to the other right through doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get a cheaper fare, if you look around for it and can spare the time to dig deeply into their fare structure, which is basically based on a zoning principle (though they don't tell you that, and even if they call it something else, that is what they are doing)
Let me give you a f'rinstance to illustrate my point (at last year's prices, BTW). Chippenham and Henley on Thames are both served by FGW, and an off peak return between the two will cost you £40.60.
If instead you bought an off peak return from Chippenham to Swindon it would cost you £6.70, and then an off peak return from Swindon to Henley which would cost you £26.10, then the total bill would be £32.80, a saving of £7.80 on the "through" ticket.
If you bought an off peak return from Chippenham to Didcot it would cost you £14.60, and then an off peak return from Didcot to Henley which would cost you £8.90, then the total bill would then be £23.50, a saving of £15.10 on the "through" ticket. In other words, over a third of the advertised through ticket price .
You can swan in to any of their staffed stations and and ask the person behind the counter for a return from A to B, and then a return from B to C. You can also do it online, and specify that you want to pick the tickets up from your local station. You can't of course do it with automatic ticket machines as they only sell you tickets from the station you are at to the place you want to go.
If I wanted to go from Slough to Totnes I'd be looking at prices to and from such places as Reading, Newbury, Pewsey, Castle Cary, Taunton, Tiverton Junction, Exeter and Newton Abbott, and then start adding up the totals on the various permutations.
One word of warning though. Whilst this is perfectly legal and above board (and the TOCs despise you for doing it, which makes it even more fun
) you must make sure that the train(s) you are on actually stop at the stations that you've bought tickets to and from. The Revenue Protection lads and ladesses really enjoy catching people with tickets to an from Aldermaston or wherever when the train doesn't stop there...
Happy hunting
Thank you for that. MUch appreciated.Both Slough and Totnes are served by First Great Western. However, buying a ticket from one to the other right through doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get a cheaper fare, if you look around for it and can spare the time to dig deeply into their fare structure, which is basically based on a zoning principle (though they don't tell you that, and even if they call it something else, that is what they are doing)
Let me give you a f'rinstance to illustrate my point (at last year's prices, BTW). Chippenham and Henley on Thames are both served by FGW, and an off peak return between the two will cost you £40.60.
If instead you bought an off peak return from Chippenham to Swindon it would cost you £6.70, and then an off peak return from Swindon to Henley which would cost you £26.10, then the total bill would be £32.80, a saving of £7.80 on the "through" ticket.
If you bought an off peak return from Chippenham to Didcot it would cost you £14.60, and then an off peak return from Didcot to Henley which would cost you £8.90, then the total bill would then be £23.50, a saving of £15.10 on the "through" ticket. In other words, over a third of the advertised through ticket price .
You can swan in to any of their staffed stations and and ask the person behind the counter for a return from A to B, and then a return from B to C. You can also do it online, and specify that you want to pick the tickets up from your local station. You can't of course do it with automatic ticket machines as they only sell you tickets from the station you are at to the place you want to go.
If I wanted to go from Slough to Totnes I'd be looking at prices to and from such places as Reading, Newbury, Pewsey, Castle Cary, Taunton, Tiverton Junction, Exeter and Newton Abbott, and then start adding up the totals on the various permutations.
One word of warning though. Whilst this is perfectly legal and above board (and the TOCs despise you for doing it, which makes it even more fun
) you must make sure that the train(s) you are on actually stop at the stations that you've bought tickets to and from. The Revenue Protection lads and ladesses really enjoy catching people with tickets to an from Aldermaston or wherever when the train doesn't stop there...Happy hunting
Out of interest, how can one find out the FGW zones?
Is this likely a pointless task as I'll end up on the bloody buses anyway?!
simoid said:
The Moose said:
I'd like to go to Totnes from Slough for a long weekend in 4 - 5 months time.
£88 return per adult seems bloody expensive for 4 of us to go for a long weekend (Fri to Sun).
Surely that can't be the cheapest ticket?
Can you go by car? I generally find that £car = £train for 2 people if you can get a good deal, but you're going to struggle to beat car costs taking 4 peeps by train.£88 return per adult seems bloody expensive for 4 of us to go for a long weekend (Fri to Sun).
Surely that can't be the cheapest ticket?
It's hopefully I'm going to be going down more regularly so it'd be nice to have it sorted.
Motorbike may be the answer...
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff