ily Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 There has already been an airlines/airports thread, so here's a thread about trains! Other folks, feel free to ask whatever questions you might have on the subject. Mine is: Is it necessary to buy National Rail tickets in advance? I'm going to Manchester and Edinburgh* by train before coming to London. Do the trains sell out, and is there much of a discount if you buy them in advance? I feel kinda uneasy buying them in advance, 'cause my plane might be late/early. <_< Thanks in advance for any tips! *(Also, if you live in one of those places, let me know if you want to hang out. 8) ) Link to post Share on other sites
michaeld Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 There has already been an airlines/airports thread, so here's a thread about trains! Other folks, feel free to ask whatever questions you might have on the subject. Mine is: Is it necessary to buy National Rail tickets in advance? I'm going to Manchester and Edinburgh* by train before coming to London. Do the trains sell out, and is there much of a discount if you buy them in advance? I feel kinda uneasy buying them in advance, 'cause my plane might be late/early. <_< Thanks in advance for any tips! *(Also, if you live in one of those places, let me know if you want to hang out. 8) ) Yes absolutely. You should buy in advance. Even if you buy in advance you can usually get flexible tickets. Best way is to look at thetrainline.com to see what tickets are available. However do not book through thetrainline.com, because they charge a £1 booking fee and a whopping £2.50 fee if you pay by credit (as opposed to debit) card. Instead try booking through http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/ or http://www.londonmidland.com/ or any other site that does not charge booking and credit card fees. You can find precisely the same prices, and the company of the train doesn't matter. (E.g. you can book a London Midlands train through the Virgin site or vice versa. Similar for Crosscountry and other companies.) Also keep a lookout for offers on this site, which is continually updated. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-coach-train-ticket-deals For some more general tips, see here. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets (There are other money saving websites, but I've generally found MSE to be the most reliable.) Link to post Share on other sites
Winter Hill Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 the company of the train doesn't matter. (E.g. you can book a London Midlands train through the Virgin site or vice versa. Similar for Crosscountry and other companies.) Except for Northern Rail. They're a terrible company anyway, I have to suffer their dreadful 1980s vintage buses'trains' every day on my work commute. But if you buy tickets through their website, watch out. Once, on Stoke station, the trains to London were really overcrowded because one company was on strike, and there were signs up saying "no Northern Rail purchased tickets on Virgin Trains." I'm not sure if they have some different arrangement, but it's not a situation I'd like to be in if I was visiting a new country from overseas. Another bit of advice is make sure to get a reserved seat when you book the train, or you could find yourself standing outside a toilet for three hours. And if someone's already in your seat when you get on, it's British law that you can clip them round the earhole and say "oi, you, gerrout of my seat." Trust me, it's in there. Link to post Share on other sites
ily Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 Thanks for the tips! So it looks like buying in advance is the way to go. Link to post Share on other sites
Winter Hill Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Thanks for the tips! So it looks like buying in advance is the way to go. Definitely! Just as an example, a one-way ticket from Sheffield to London tomorrow morning is £66.50. The same journey pre-booked on a Thursday in August is £17.00. Link to post Share on other sites
Trava u doma Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 ^^^ And by bus you can get by even for £3, if I remember correctly xD ;) Link to post Share on other sites
ily Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Thanks for the tips! So it looks like buying in advance is the way to go. Definitely! Just as an example, a one-way ticket from Sheffield to London tomorrow morning is £66.50. The same journey pre-booked on a Thursday in August is £17.00. Dang! Very different from US trains. ;) I just booked my first trip and Virgin claimed I saved 48 pounds versus buying it at the station, so that was good. :) ^^^ And by bus you can get by even for £3, if I remember correctly xD ;) That's very impressive! Link to post Share on other sites
ily Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 So, one more thing...how early should I arrive at the station before the train leaves? (I don't trust my own judgement on this topic anymore, ha ;) ) Link to post Share on other sites
AkiraCoinTykiGotBetaMuffin Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Depends on how close to the time you want to shave it and what service you are on, 15 minutes before would be cutting it short, I'd usually advise give it half an hour in the least before the train leaves, just as an incase. Link to post Share on other sites
michaeld Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 A few more tips. (a) If you are 25 or under[1], consider buying the 16-25 railcard. This costs £28 but saves you 1/3 on train and tube journeys (apart from ones at 10am or before on weekdays) for a year. So you break even if you would have spent £84 on trains. It requires a passport and a passport sized photo. You can get them at stations or buy them online (needs UK delivery address). If you are a UK resident you can get 10% off online. You can buy 1/3-reduced tickets online even if you don't yet have the railcard as long as you have it by the time of your journey. (b) Get an Oyster card!! This gives you access to cheaper fares on the London Underground and saves you queuing for tickets. You preload charge onto your card, and then just Available at Underground stations or buy online (again needs UK delivery address). Needs £5 deposit, which you can get back by returning the card when you've finished with it. This is compatible with the railcard of point (a); if you have the railcard you can get 1/3 reduction on Oyster card charges. It is also compatible with day or week London Underground travelcards; you can load them onto your Oyster card. Try not to get the Visitor Oyster card, as this has a non-returnable £3 charge and I think you have to load credit in multiples of £5 and you don't get back the remainder. (In general, avoid anything marketed towards tourists as it's usually a less good deal.) © Keep an eye out for special offers on this page, which is continually updated. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-coach-train-ticket-deals More general tips are available here. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets [1] This also applies to over 25s who are in full time education, though it might be UK education only. I do know however that the 16-25 offer applies even to non-UK people. Link to post Share on other sites
Ritchie333 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 If you're going from Manchester, get the Virgin West Coast Mainline service from Manc Piccadilly to Euston. If you're going from Edinburgh, get the East Coast Mainline service to Kings Cross via Newcastle and York. The line from Edinburgh to Newcastle is well known for its scenery and views, particularly around Berwick upon Tweed, so even if you don't like trains you'll like the view. For both of these trips, you should definitely book in advance - you might stand a chance of getting a seat then as the ECML is particularly popular. A few years ago I did an impromptu trip from London to York (halfway up the line to Edinburgh) and was standing for most of it. Also, definitely get an Oyster Card, it's just like a cash card except it's completely anonymous so if you don't ever want to use it again, you can give it to somebody else who does. It's a lot cheaper than getting a travelcard, even if that's bundled with your mainline ticket. Don't forget you can also use the Oyster Card on buses, which is pretty essential if you're out in London past midnight, the tube's shut, and the only thing running are night buses. Link to post Share on other sites
ily Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks for the tips, y'all! I will definitely be getting an Oyster card. I still have one from the last time I was in London, but it might be too old to use. If so I'll get a new one. Since I'm in London for 2 weeks, should I also get a travelcard on my Oyster card? Link to post Share on other sites
AkiraCoinTykiGotBetaMuffin Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 If you already have an oyster I'm pretty sure it will still work fine even if was from a while ago. Link to post Share on other sites
michaeld Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 If you already have an oyster I'm pretty sure it will still work fine even if was from a while ago. Agreed; I don't think Oyster cards expire. You might have to figure a way of topping it up; I always top up mine online. Not sure how you'd do it if you don't have an online login. EDIT: actually mine is on auto-topup, but you can set this if you have an online account. Link to post Share on other sites
AkiraCoinTykiGotBetaMuffin Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 If you already have an oyster I'm pretty sure it will still work fine even if was from a while ago. Agreed; I don't think Oyster cards expire. You might have to figure a way of topping it up; I always top up mine online. Not sure how you'd do it if you don't have an online login. You just go to a top up machine, theres tons in any station, just place your card on the yellow scan bit, and then choose how much you want to top up, it's how I do it and it's easy to do. Most ticket machines do oysters in fact. Link to post Share on other sites
michaeld Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 You just go to a top up machine, theres tons in any station, just place your card on the yellow scan bit, and then choose how much you want to top up, it's how I do it and it's easy to do. Most ticket machines do oysters in fact. Thanks! Since I haven't lived in London for well over a decade, I'm a little out of touch with how these things work. Link to post Share on other sites
ily Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Yep, 7 years old and my Oyster card still worked, so obviously this trip was meant to be! It was pretty self-explanatory to top it up at the machine. Link to post Share on other sites
De Mij'lory Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (a) If you are 25 or under[1], consider buying the 16-25 railcard. This costs £28 but saves you 1/3 on train and tube journeys (apart from ones at 10am or before on weekdays) for a year. So you break even if you would have spent £84 on trains. And if you're not under 25, maybe see if the Network Railcard works instead. It'll probably be pretty hard though as it's a much smaller area so the fares won't as much to start with, and there's a minimum fare of £13 or somesuch which also doesn't help. Link to post Share on other sites
Ritchie333 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 There's probably not much point in getting a Network Railcard unless you're making regular journeys with it. Mine cost £20 this year for a third off, but only after 10am on weekdays (whereas regular off peak starts at 9:30). Actually, that brings me to another point, anywhere before 9:30am Monday - Friday is "peak" and hence more expensive - sometimes more than double the off peak price, and no discounts or railcards work. If you turned up at Waverley at 8:30 and wanted a ticket for the very next train to Kings X there and then, you'd be several hundred quid out of pocket. Link to post Share on other sites
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