Trains, the Green option £££££££s
Discussion
Southerner said:
Cotty said:
Southerner said:
Those are “Advance” tickets, they work just like air fares or Megabus or whatever; the cheaper train will have more seats available, essentially.
I don't get it, the trains are only half hour apart why would one have more vacant seats that the other one.
CraigyMc said:
Doesn't ignore it, just acknowledges that it's an irrelevant amount compared to other taxation. Evanivitch said:
CraigyMc said:
Doesn't ignore it, just acknowledges that it's an irrelevant amount compared to other taxation. Your brain may vary.
Cotty said:
croyde said:
Why are trains so fugging expensive?
What I don't understand if why train tickets vary so much for similar time the same day. See here half an hours difference 1.36pm £24.60 - 2.05pm £58.20
Theres a finite amount of trains, so they want each one full, but not over subscribed. So the earlier one is clearly more lightly loiaded.
Which of course is self limiting. A sensible buisness would run more trains and make more cash. But railways dont operate by normal rules. Driving away business is how its always been done.
Saleen836 said:
Always clear cookies before returning to book anything like that 
No idea why this urban myth gets spouted so much. Has absolutely no impact on prices. https://www.going.com/guides/you-dont-need-to-sear...
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/flight-...
https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/searching-incog...
Remember the days when a last minute booking could be cheap, company trying to fill those last seats.
There was even a shop at Heathrow that sold cheap flights on the day.
Pack a small bag, head to the airport and decide where you were going once at the shop.
Take my example of almost driving up at the last minute to Harwich for the Hoek.
When I looked, thinking I could just get to the port on time, the price had gone from £160 to £220, so I didn't go.
Surely charging more has lost them money. I guess they don't care.
There was even a shop at Heathrow that sold cheap flights on the day.
Pack a small bag, head to the airport and decide where you were going once at the shop.
Take my example of almost driving up at the last minute to Harwich for the Hoek.
When I looked, thinking I could just get to the port on time, the price had gone from £160 to £220, so I didn't go.
Surely charging more has lost them money. I guess they don't care.
Evanivitch said:
grumbledoak said:
All mass transit is horribly inefficient.
Hard to have a meaningful conversation with someone so detached from reality.
WRT MTS being inefficient I do kinda get what he means, though I don't know what the answer is (on a practical level)
DodgyGeezer said:
Evanivitch said:
grumbledoak said:
All mass transit is horribly inefficient.
Hard to have a meaningful conversation with someone so detached from reality.
WRT MTS being inefficient I do kinda get what he means, though I don't know what the answer is (on a practical level)
We travel to Antwerp regularly, its just under £100 each way on the chunnel then around £70 in fuel. Thats for two of us. Eurostar is around £200 from London each.
Train travel in Belgium is really cheap, such 12 Euros return to Ghent. It's once you get out of Belgium it costs, like a few more miles to Amsterdam and it's around 40-45 Euros each. Driving it's only 160Km and about 2 hours so the 4 of us drove there
Train travel in Belgium is really cheap, such 12 Euros return to Ghent. It's once you get out of Belgium it costs, like a few more miles to Amsterdam and it's around 40-45 Euros each. Driving it's only 160Km and about 2 hours so the 4 of us drove there
monkfish1 said:
Cotty said:
[
What I don't understand if why train tickets vary so much for similar time the same day.
See here half an hours difference 1.36pm £24.60 - 2.05pm £58.20
Demand management. Been that way since BR days.What I don't understand if why train tickets vary so much for similar time the same day.
See here half an hours difference 1.36pm £24.60 - 2.05pm £58.20
Theres a finite amount of trains, so they want each one full, but not over subscribed. So the earlier one is clearly more lightly loaded.
Which of course is self limiting. A sensible business would run more trains and make more cash. But railways don't operate by normal rules. Driving away business is how its always been done.
Cotty said:
Its a midday train the ones before and after are only half hour difference. I just don't understand why that particular train is more than half the price of the other trains only half hour apart. I would love to understand the reasoning. I could understand if it was really early in the morning or late at night but midday with other trains so close baffles me
Because more people have booked seats on one that the other. They'll have a pricing scheme something like 20% of the seats will be cheap, 60% will be medium price, and 20% will be expensive. If 80% of the seats have already sold there's only the expensive ones left.Keen to be green and not clog up the motorway network (plus its a bit more relaxing) I thought I'd price up a trip from Devon to Carlisle for my daughter's University Open Day visit in November.
Three of us, an Off-peak return ticket (the cheapest available) is £692. So only about £600 dearer than driving
Three of us, an Off-peak return ticket (the cheapest available) is £692. So only about £600 dearer than driving
boyse7en said:
Keen to be green and not clog up the motorway network (plus its a bit more relaxing) I thought I'd price up a trip from Devon to Carlisle for my daughter's University Open Day visit in November.
Three of us, an Off-peak return ticket (the cheapest available) is £692. So only about £600 dearer than driving
Added to which, as with most public transport it doesnt go from where you are, or to where you want to go, unless you live next door to the railway station, and want to go somewhere next to the railway station. So there will be more expense and/or walking/car journey each end.Three of us, an Off-peak return ticket (the cheapest available) is £692. So only about £600 dearer than driving
During the 'Petrol Crisis' I had to do a job up in Manchester, which I'd normally drive to from London but I only had half a tank and didn't want to get stuck up there.
So I went on TrainLine who priced up the cheapest option, which was still £120 return.
Part of the deal was a ticket to Milton Keynes then stay on the train but change seats to carry on to Manchester.
The return had to be a certain train coming back, no missing it.
Thinking of the adverts I took a book and thought, let the train take the strain.
Got to Euston half an hour before the 9am departure and it's hell on Earth. It's a football special, loads of drunks and a nasty atmosphere.
The train is bedlam and there are a bunch of louts sitting on and around my seat. Almost a fight over it, but helped by the guy who had booked the seat next to me.
Cans of beer are flying, loads of chanting, fekin miserable.
So at Milton Keynes two old ladies are booked into our seats, so we politely vacate but can't find Coach G where our next seats are supposed to be.
I end up sitting on the floor by the toilets for the rest of the journey.
The tram from the station to Salford was awful too as it passes the Stadium and just to make things better, I noticed that there were no queues at the petrol stations, people just filling up like normal, aaargh
All this before a 10 hour shift of work.
The next day I got on a train home with my workmates but was turfed off for having the wrong ticket.
Walked up to one of the ticket guys asking about the actual train on my ticket, so he took a look and told me that I could take any train to London with that ticket. FFS!
2 days later I realised that Coach G was First Class. I hadn't bothered looking beyond the buffet car because what 'cheap' ticket would put you in First Class.
Utterly bonkers!
And to think I had sat on the floor next to the bogs, amongst the scrotes whilst up there in First Class was my empty, comfortable, quiet seat
So I went on TrainLine who priced up the cheapest option, which was still £120 return.
Part of the deal was a ticket to Milton Keynes then stay on the train but change seats to carry on to Manchester.
The return had to be a certain train coming back, no missing it.
Thinking of the adverts I took a book and thought, let the train take the strain.
Got to Euston half an hour before the 9am departure and it's hell on Earth. It's a football special, loads of drunks and a nasty atmosphere.
The train is bedlam and there are a bunch of louts sitting on and around my seat. Almost a fight over it, but helped by the guy who had booked the seat next to me.
Cans of beer are flying, loads of chanting, fekin miserable.
So at Milton Keynes two old ladies are booked into our seats, so we politely vacate but can't find Coach G where our next seats are supposed to be.
I end up sitting on the floor by the toilets for the rest of the journey.
The tram from the station to Salford was awful too as it passes the Stadium and just to make things better, I noticed that there were no queues at the petrol stations, people just filling up like normal, aaargh
All this before a 10 hour shift of work.
The next day I got on a train home with my workmates but was turfed off for having the wrong ticket.
Walked up to one of the ticket guys asking about the actual train on my ticket, so he took a look and told me that I could take any train to London with that ticket. FFS!
2 days later I realised that Coach G was First Class. I hadn't bothered looking beyond the buffet car because what 'cheap' ticket would put you in First Class.
Utterly bonkers!
And to think I had sat on the floor next to the bogs, amongst the scrotes whilst up there in First Class was my empty, comfortable, quiet seat
Edited by croyde on Tuesday 8th October 18:42
croyde said:
Remember the days when a last minute booking could be cheap, company trying to fill those last seats.
...
Surely charging more has lost them money. I guess they don't care.
I suspect some statistical geniuses have worked out that by removing the last-minute-bargains they're making more from those people who do buy and they're not actually losing that many customers....
Surely charging more has lost them money. I guess they don't care.
havoc said:
croyde said:
Remember the days when a last minute booking could be cheap, company trying to fill those last seats.
...
Surely charging more has lost them money. I guess they don't care.
I suspect some statistical geniuses have worked out that by removing the last-minute-bargains they're making more from those people who do buy and they're not actually losing that many customers....
Surely charging more has lost them money. I guess they don't care.
k I need to get to London tomorrow, I’ll pay £200’.Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff