Train tickets

There are a certain number of bargain tickets for most trains, when they are gone they are gone! Try the Train Line or the company that runs that particular train line.

First, if you buy a Senior Railcard (£30 pa) you get 30% off all journeys.

Train tickets are subject to 'dynamic' pricing, availability, time of travel etc.

I usually use Trainline, or the relevant train company e.g. Avanti, SouthWest Trains, whatever, and found no difference in price.

Should warn you not to turn up and buy on the day…..that will make you wince!

I have a senior rail card and usually buy at least the week before

Look into ticket splitting too.

www.thetrainline.com/trains/great-britain/split-tickets

Ridiculous that you can sit in the same seat on the same train, and save money by buying more than one ticket for the journey.

I think the operating companies only release a limited number of lower-priced tickets and, in the 5 minutes you took to make up your mind, somebody else bought the last £36 ticket. If you can hold on for a while, it might be that, if the £57 tickets aren't selling well, the operator will offer further price reductions. But there's no guarantee, sadly.

I've tried various sites for buying tickets and found them to be much of a muchness. Now, I buy them all on line from East Midlands Railway, my local operator, and load them on the EMR smartcard. Although it's EMR, you can use the system to purchase and use tickets to and from anywhere in the country.

Split your tickets. Often cheaper. Saved 35 pounds on a long journey.
Also this site
www.splityourticket.co.uk/

As already said invest in a senior railcard,split tickets and book as far ahead as possible.

Ah - he who hesitates and all that!

Maybe if I try just booking for the outward journey; then book separately for the return I might get a better deal.

Bring back British Rail!!!

I travel on the trains so seldom that a railcard is unlikely to be a good investment - but I will look into it.

Maybe if I try just booking for the outward journey; then book separately for the return I might get a better deal.

Oh, I wouldn't do that Lucky - wherever you're going you then have to spend time faffing around looking for a return journey.

Just get it booked!

Trainline. This is a travel agency for trains and last time I used them I couldn’t print my ticket and had to use my phone. I like a paper copy for back-up.

I went to discuss this with LNER and they couldn’t help. I had a long chat with the customer service person and they informed me that it would probably be cheaper to buy direct from them. They would also be able to resolve any problems in person.
Currently LNER’s App does not link to tickets bought in person so they are not able to solve any problems with the App!

I have a retired person rail card that saves me 30% on rail fares. Tickets are best bought well in advance as you get the cheapest rate. I’ll be buying from my local station in the future. At least I can speak to a real person.

BTW, getting in touch with The Trainline if you have a problem is not easy.

Thanks for that - I will try and go straight to the train company.

I always go straight to GWR to book. Once I see the closest time of the train I want at a reasonable price, I book it straightaway. I'm sure if I go away from the site and come back in 30 minutes they know I really want it and am getting desperate, so they put the price up. Same for plane tickets.

I have a a senior Rail card - bought on line, £70 for three years. I go straight to GWR’s web site and either buy two advance tickets or a cheap day return. Before the plague I often bought First Class Advance tickets very cheaply. You can use the First class lounge at the station! I have the GWR phone ap so just use my iPhone at the station. Easy.

If I book a train from Hull to Skipton it’s around £35 and I have to change in Leeds.
So I book Hull to Leeds £8 and Leeds to Skipton £4.

Not sure of your location,
but I presume the distance is no more than 120 miles.
If the journey being made is just one train operator
I would go to their/your local station and book at the station
Try and visit the station after 10:00am or before 4pm
on Monday to friday inclusive
If it involves going to/from/via London try to make the journey generally AFTER 10:00am Although cheap/er tickets be used on the first trains of the day on Saturdays or Sundays.

If you have Tesco Clubcard vouchers you can buy a £30 railcard for £10 worth of vouchers.

I travelled by train last week which involved a change.
Booking a full-price ticket was £28, on any off-peak train.
Using my railcard it was £18.
Restricting it to one specific time it was £13.
That was through Trainline and the website prompted me to choose the cheapest price and also split the tickets.

Trainline is good for getting basic info. I would use them first and then move on to the actual company who is servicing the journey. Just discovered a new company called Lumo. Ticket London to Edinburgh £13:10. Same in other direction.