Train Bookings

cycologist

Thinking of going down to Cornwall for a spot of bike riding in a different part of the country. How far ahead should I book a train in order to get the best deal?
Any tips for getting me and the bike arounfd the country with the least hassle greatfully received.

alfablue

I think fares are dramatically cheaper if you book at least a month ahead, and if you travel in the middle of the day (for example Bath to London fares range from £5 to over £100). As it gets nearer to your date of travel the cheaper fares dissappear. For many trips two singles also work out cheaper than returns. Have a search on The Trainline

Bikes often have to be reserved, usually at least 1 day in advance. This can't be done online, but a call to the train operator after booking usually sorts it.

The Bike/Rail Page is useful for real life (as opposed to Rail Operators rules on paper) experience of bikes on trains.

andymiller

Book ahead for the cheapest fares (although bear in mind that the cheapest fares amy also be the least flexible).

As for travelling with a bike all depends on where you are travelling from. The older High Speed Trains that are mainly used on the routes from London to the South West have a guards van which usually has plenty of space, but the Virgin Voyagers from the Scotland and the North East only have space for a couple of bikes - so it's worth reserving.

JHcp

Book as early as you can to obtain the cheap APEX fares. For some reason single tickets are cheaper than returns. However booking can only be done 12 weeks in advance, so if you are doing a long tour you might find that by the time you wait for the the date for your return to be released all the cheap tickets for your outward trip have been sold. We tried to travel up to Scotland where the single APEX fare would have been £80 each for a single, but by the time we waited the 4 weeks for our return date all the cheap fares had gone and we would have had to pay the full fare £239 each way for the two of us! We are now taking the bikes up by car!!!!

Regulator

alfablue wrote:

I think fares are dramatically cheaper if you book at least a month ahead, and if you travel in the middle of the day (for example Bath to London fares range from £5 to over £100). As it gets nearer to your date of travel the cheaper fares dissappear. For many trips two singles also work out cheaper than returns. Have a search on The Trainline

Bikes often have to be reserved, usually at least 1 day in advance. This can't be done online, but a call to the train operator after booking usually sorts it.

The Bike/Rail Page is useful for real life (as opposed to Rail Operators rules on paper) experience of bikes on trains.

I'm not a great fan of the Trainline - often the cheaper fares don't appear on this site. I'd suggest using the National Rail web-site and then actually getting the tickets from your local station. Either that, or use the operators own web-site to book both the tickets and the bike.

fluff.

alfablue wrote:

I For many trips two singles also work out cheaper than returns.

Something which confused the heck out of me last time I travelled by train:

Single to Whitehaven (change at Carlisle) £50
Single to Carlisle, £20
Single from Carlisle to Whitehaven £8

These were the same trains! The prices were quoted on the same day, and none of them were in peak times or anything, really don't understand train fares in this country :?

mazza

jkcp that seems very expensive for a train to scotland where were you traveling from i went from birningham to fort william cost 70 pound return with a rail card which was booked on thr day with no restrictions without the rail card it would be 100 pound i think.

JHcp

mazza wrote:

jkcp that seems very expensive for a train to scotland where were you traveling from i went from birningham to fort william cost 70 pound return with a rail card which was booked on thr day with no restrictions without the rail card it would be 100 pound i think.

The prices quoted were for 2 adults travelling from Bury St. Edmunds to Thurso, we thought it was expensive. I checked the prices with the National rail enquiries and GNER. Unfortunately we are not eligible for a rail card, obviously this can make quite a bit of difference.

Rob Sallnow

Buying singles fares will most often be the best option when one leg of the journey is travelling at peak time. It is sadly too often the case that the booking operator will sell you a Standard Open Return because he has picked up that you are travelling out on a train that needs an Open fare but hasn't picked up on the return being off peak. A Standarsd Open Return is the cost of two Open Singles. It seldom pays to buy singles when travelling off peak both ways because a single is either 50p or £1 cheaper than a return.

If you are travelling by Great Western all advance purchase tickets are sold as singles but are considerably better value than when we had Apex fares....particularly if you are only travelling in one direction.