Trainstuff

[andygates]

Some of you PT wizzes talk about taking odd routes or weird planned breaks to get a pile 'o' singles that work out cheaper than a regular single or return.

May I drink of your brain juices?  I would very, very much like to get up north for a flying visit but the ol' wallet is hurting.  Are there standard tricks to doing this?  Via London or via Crewe or something?

[andygates]

Ah, I get it: you'll save a few quid doing that, but for actual cheapage, you gotta do the coaches.

[pcolbeck]

Book in advance and don't go at peak times you get some stupidly cheap deals.

[teethgrinder]

I'm no master at this, but I have gained a few cheap tickets.1st class from Milton Keynes to Lake District about £27 each way. Cheaper than standard class at time of booking.
Milton Keynes to Brighton for £7.50

Look well before you travel. I go to national Rail Enquiries.
I usually look for routes that would compete with budget airlines, such as London-Edinburgh.
Flexibility helps too. The more flexible you can be about travel times and even travel day, the more chance you have of bagging a bargain. My £27 ticket to the lakes was the only train on that day several weeks before I travelled. They were at oddish times, but were about half the price of the next cheapest. they were some kind of promotional offer.
I usualy sweep through the time frame of my flexibilty to travel to find the cheapest.

Also, breaking down the train journey can make a huge difference. But not always.

I never get anal about it. There are too many variables to consider when you start breaking down journeys and seeing what you can come up with. I tend to take it if it's a good bargain or an essential journey, or leave it's not the bargain I was hoping for after about half an hour of fiddling about. I sometimes have a look on the off chance.


From the West Country to up north, I'd try via london and via Birmingham and maybe split from West Country to London or Brum, then split from London or Brum to you destination.

Also, a bit of a long shot if you're aiming to travel at a specific time, enlist in the rail companies e-mailing list. They send the occasional email when they have special offers on.

[teethgrinder]

Ah, I get it: you'll save a few quid doing that, but for actual cheapage, you gotta do the coaches.

For real cheap coaches, try Megabus.com

I spied London to Bristol for £1 while showing my mum this website.

[Mrs Pingu]

Lots of tips on moneysavingexpert, mainly book as soon as the tickets are released, 12 or 13 wks in advance or thereabouts.

[Kim]

Friends don't let friends change at Crewe.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Ah, I get it: you'll save a few quid doing that, but for actual cheapage, you gotta do the coaches.

Going from Brizzle to London I always take the coach, as it's about half the train price or cheaper without having to bugger around with stupid times. The same with Heathrow, where it has the great advantage of going direct rather than changing at Reading and taking a bus - useful when lugging great baggage, or bagging huge luggage. Why does our largest airport still not have a proper rail connection?

For capital-free journeys I tend to prefer the train. Coaches are slower and less comfortable, and there tends to be less price differential. Or put it another way, trains to London are rip offs. All the way from Devon to "up-north" could be a pain on a coach; depends how far north and your own tolerance of course. Well, I used to travel 30-odd hours on a coach from furthest Poland to London, then another to Stroud or thereabouts, so it can be done!

The great advantage of coach travel over train or flights is that you don't have to arse around and know the tricks to get a cheap fare.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I've just seen an ad on another site advertising Bristol - London for Ł10 on thetrainline.com but on that site it turns out they only sell certain routes, none from Bristol!

[Mrs Pingu]

Cheap Train Tickets: How to find hidden fares...