Best time to book a train ticket
Discussion
On LNER it is usually 3 months in advance for weekdays, weekends can take longer to come on as they don't always know when engineering works are taking place so hold them back until they know.
As above though, half term week fares are normally more expensive than the rest of the week.
Don't use the Trainline as they charge a booking fee, always best to use the TOC website.
As above though, half term week fares are normally more expensive than the rest of the week.
Don't use the Trainline as they charge a booking fee, always best to use the TOC website.
Having done the same journey (KX to Leeds) a few times, prices in general are expensive a long way in advance (2 months +), tend to drop from about 6 weeks to a month in advance, then if you leave it too late, from a couple of weeks beforehand, they go up significantly again.
Stuff like holidays/half term also affects the price I think but in general, booking around 6 weeks to a month in advance usually gets a reasonable price.
Stuff like holidays/half term also affects the price I think but in general, booking around 6 weeks to a month in advance usually gets a reasonable price.
[quote=C&C]Having done the same journey (KX to Leeds) a few times, prices in general are expensive a long way in advance (2 months +), tend to drop from about 6 weeks to a month in advance, then if you leave it too late, from a couple of weeks beforehand, they go up significantly again.
Stuff like holidays/half term also affects the price I think but in general, booking around 6 weeks to a month in advance usually gets a reasonable price.
[/quote]
Bonza, thanks.
Stuff like holidays/half term also affects the price I think but in general, booking around 6 weeks to a month in advance usually gets a reasonable price.
[/quote]
Bonza, thanks.
carreauchompeur said:
Train tickets used to be simple, what a pisstake the whole thing is now!
That all over, it's usually just cheaper, quicker, easier and more comfortable to drive anywhere especially if there is more than 1 travelling. My biggest fear is the idiots in power will cotton on and increase the cost of driving rather than decrease the cost of train travel, I could put up with some of the s
t of train travel and would prefer to do it a lot more if it wasn't so expensive.carreauchompeur said:
Train tickets used to be simple, what a pisstake the whole thing is now!
Yes indeed. I paid £40 more than I need have on LNER last week because the ticketing was so arcane. I quizzed the ticket office chap at the station about how he would calculate the fare and even he wasn't entirely sure.It should be easy to buy the cheapest ticket, but it is far from it in my experience.
Cheapest ticket is usually 'Advance' which means a fixed train - miss that & it's invalid.
Always worth looking at other options though and making a conscious decision rather than just jump to cheapest ticket - sometimes flexible is not much more.
Off peak always cheaper than peak
Sometimes on LNER, I've found Advance 1st cheaper than Advance standard - bizarre, but I guess the entire tranche of standard has sold & they've jumped to the next price tranche - but 1st still have some.
LNER website always cheapest in my experience - Trainline fare is the same, but they add a booking fee
Always worth looking at other options though and making a conscious decision rather than just jump to cheapest ticket - sometimes flexible is not much more.
Off peak always cheaper than peak
Sometimes on LNER, I've found Advance 1st cheaper than Advance standard - bizarre, but I guess the entire tranche of standard has sold & they've jumped to the next price tranche - but 1st still have some.
LNER website always cheapest in my experience - Trainline fare is the same, but they add a booking fee
BaldOldMan said:
Cheapest ticket is usually 'Advance' which means a fixed train - miss that & it's invalid.
Always worth looking at other options though and making a conscious decision rather than just jump to cheapest ticket - sometimes flexible is not much more.
Off peak always cheaper than peak
Sometimes on LNER, I've found Advance 1st cheaper than Advance standard - bizarre, but I guess the entire tranche of standard has sold & they've jumped to the next price tranche - but 1st still have some.
LNER website always cheapest in my experience - Trainline fare is the same, but they add a booking fee
The problem I had last week was when travelling Grantham > King's Cross.Always worth looking at other options though and making a conscious decision rather than just jump to cheapest ticket - sometimes flexible is not much more.
Off peak always cheaper than peak
Sometimes on LNER, I've found Advance 1st cheaper than Advance standard - bizarre, but I guess the entire tranche of standard has sold & they've jumped to the next price tranche - but 1st still have some.
LNER website always cheapest in my experience - Trainline fare is the same, but they add a booking fee
I booked directly with East Midlands Railways, assuming that they were the operator. Not so. They seem to be an umbrella for two or more operators.
I was going to buy an open off-peak return, which was meant to be valid one "any off-peak service". However, a closer look at the terms and conditions revealed that it was "any off-peak service operated by the specific operator whose train you went out on".
I also later discovered that if I wanted to return at the weekend it was cheaper to buy a standard ticket and pay for an upgrade to first than actually buy a first class ticket.
None of this was made at all clear on the website and three calls to the "customer service" line made me now wiser. It was never going to go well when one of the agents asked me to spell, "Grantham" and another kept referring to, "St Pancreas".
So said:
... one of the agents asked me to spell, "Grantham" and another kept referring to, "St Pancreas".
St Pancreas seems too be a popular one - even with rail staff who really should know better - I agree though, doesn't exactly inspire confidence.....Leeds to Kings Cross should just be LNER though - but I suppose there are other operators for parts of the route,
BaldOldMan said:
So said:
... one of the agents asked me to spell, "Grantham" and another kept referring to, "St Pancreas".
St Pancreas seems too be a popular one - even with rail staff who really should know better - I agree though, doesn't exactly inspire confidence.....Leeds to Kings Cross should just be LNER though - but I suppose there are other operators for parts of the route,
It could all have worked out very badly because our usual route St Pancreas (sic) to Nottingham was broken for engineering works. This again wasn't made clear on the website and our open return could have resulted in us having to change twice, with one of us fresh out of hospital and a virtual cripple.
The Kings Cross to G-R-A-N-T-H-A-M route had limited service and two different operators whose tickets appeared unique to each, even though they were purchased via EMT.
It is little wonder that I refused point blank to use trains until very recently and once drove from Nottingham Station to stay in the Renaissance Hotel in St Pancrass!
It's a mess.
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