Train help

[Matt_B]

Leicester to London, going to Heathrow so not sure it matters which London. Tuesday 30th June leaving Leicester before 12 lunch time. Anything cheaper than 80 odd quid?

 

[Jeff]

Do you want to come back again?
And if you do, when?

 

[Jeff]

Who told you it would be £80?

It would only be £80ish if you want an anytime single, which you'd only need if you don't know which train you're going to get and you want to travel at at peak times.


The Cheapest advance single currently available to London is £24, on the 10:00. You can buy this from East Midlands Trains or any other train company. Don't use Thetrainline or it will cost you more, as it always does with them.
If you want tube travel to Heathrow included, the cheapest tickets are £26.60 on trains that leave Leicester at 11:00 and 11:32

Or if you can get the 12:00 train there's a £15 ticket to St Pancras available from Megabus



The above cheap tickets would need to be bought quickly as the price will go up once the cheaper ones have been sold.



If you can't commit to a specific train, but won't be travelling in at peak times, the cheapest ticket is £58, which is valid from the 10:24 train onwards. There's no need to buy this ticket in advance, you can get it at the station on the day.

 

[Dour]

Leicester to London, going to Heathrow so not sure it matters which London. Tuesday 30th June leaving Leicester before 12 lunch time. Anything cheaper than 80 odd quid?

I think it's still probably half the journey by bus then, so you might want to consider going via Nuneaton.

 

[Jeff]

I think it's still probably half the journey by bus then, so you might want to consider going via Nuneaton.

Engineering work is only at weekends or late at night on week days. He's going on a Tuesday morning so should have no problem.

 

[Matt_B]

Thanks guys. I've a friend coming over from America for a wedding and staying with me on the Monday night. The train is for him to get home. He said the cheapest he could find was 82. I'll pass on the info.

 

[camberwell fox]

Hopefully someone can help with this:

I need to travel from London (any station) to Newcastle (main) on Friday the 14th of July at any time post midday up until about 5.00pm.

One adult and one child aged five with me returning the following day (Saturday) in the morning.

Had a look at the train line and the prices look stupid. Can anyone help with better booking offers and so on...?

Thanks

 

[Nottingham Fox]

Not sure you can buy tickets that far in advance

 

[pork pie fox]

I thought you could only buy them 3 months in advance.

 

[camberwell fox]

Not sure you can buy tickets that far in advance

I thought you could only buy them 3 months in advance.

Oh sorry meant August 2015

 

[Nottingham Fox]

Oh sorry meant August 2015

So to confirm out on Friday 14th Aug and back on Sat 15th Aug?

Do you have a Family & Friends rail card ?

 

[camberwell fox]

Yes both out on the Friday but only me returning on the Saturday.

No rail cards Notts, thank you.

 

[Nottingham Fox]

Yes both out on the Friday but only me returning on the Saturday.

No rail cards Notts, thank you.

It's reasonably complicated because of 2 up and 1 down. I'm certain that even with the cost of a F&F Railcard, you'll be better off as you'll save that on your outward journey alone, plus you still have the Railcard to use for an entire year.

I don't have time now to look, but I will have later. In the mean time, you need to look at splitting your journey. This doesn't mean you'll have to change frequently, quite often you stay on the same train, but just buy your tickets in stages, or you may have to change once, but it will save you money. Look at buying option like London > Derby > York > Newcastle or London > Peterborough > York > Newcastle. There's many options.

What would be helpful, do you have a figure in mind that you would be happy to pay? (Note that you are travelling on popular days)

 

[camberwell fox]

Hi Notts,

Thanks - appreciate your help.

No price in mind just as little as I can get away with as I am only dropping off my son there and coming back.

 

[SwedeFox]

Friday 14th August

dep. 16.30: London Victoria Coach Station
arr. 23.35: Newcastle

£24

Saturday 15th August

dep. 06.45: Newcastle
arr. 14.00: London Victoria Coach Station

£8

Just tell your kid you're going on a 7 hour Megabus adventure and he'll love every second of it

 

[Jeff]

Had a look at the train line

You should never buy from that website. It's always cheaper to buy from a train company instead.


If you want cheap tickets on Fridays (particularly for journeys to/from London) you need to book as soon as the advance singles become available.


One way to reduce the price is to travel via Grand Central, rather than Virgin. They don't go to Newcastle, but do go to Sunderland which is a cheap train (£3.40 single)/metro ride from Newcastle.

An example of the difference in price:
Virgin East Coast - cheapest walk up off peak London to Newcastle return: £129.10
Grand Central - cheapest walk up off peak London to Sunderland return: £98.60
The downside with the Grand Central ticket is that you have to use it on their trains only, the journey is a lot longer, and they only have a few trains a day in each direction. So if you miss one you'll have to wait hours for the next one.

If you decide to go by Virgin East Coast, there's a small discount on their advance tickets if you buy from their website.

 

[SwedeFox]

Are you an affiliate of those sites, Jeff? Could be useful to know for the future so I can contribute a couple of pennies toward the site

 

[Jeff]

Are you an affiliate of those sites, Jeff?

Not those ones. I can earn a tiny commission (around 2% I think) on sales via East Midlands Trains and Megabus.

 

[camberwell fox]

Hi all,

Firstly I have no rail cards or discount vouchers.

I need to get from Camberwell Gren to Feltham (Raikway station) daily Monday to Friday weekly with open times.

In reality I will be leaving prior to 8.00am daily and returning at between 4.00 and 6.00pm.

My nearest mainline station is Denmark Hill (walkable) and then Waterloo (bus ride).

Any suggestions gents?

I appreciate your help, thank you.

Camberwell Fox

 

[Jeff]

Change at Clapham Junction. Seven day travelcard - £40.10