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Train Ticket Query
daveb666 - 23/9/13 at 07:52 AM

Need to go to Chesterfield on Saturday to pick my car up so going to go on the train to save the wife trekking down with me.

Tickets on Northern rail website are £9.50, but I need to pay another £7 to get them posted to me as the local station doesn't have a ticket collection thing. It'd mean driving into Huddersfield Town Centre, parking up, getting to station there to pick them up etc.

Is there a website where I can find out what I'll pay if I buy the tickets on the train, on the day? If it's only another couple of quid then I might as well do that

pekwah1 - 23/9/13 at 08:25 AM

I happen to work for Shere who make the train ticket machines, i'll connect to one of the desktop systems in a bit and check for you!

daveb666 - 23/9/13 at 08:40 AM

lol, that's awesome, thanks mate.

I'm going from Brockholes - Chesterfield. Changing in Sheffield

jossey - 23/9/13 at 09:01 AM

Just check how much it is to travel today that will be the cost on the day of the day ticket. Rather than paying the £7 why not collect the tickets at another station if you pass any?

pekwah1 - 23/9/13 at 09:11 AM

Hi mate,

Just had a look on a ticket machine, standard single is £9.50 on it, return is £11.80.
Looks like the prices you were looking at are not "TODs" which are advanced booking tickets, but just standard tickets that they will post to you.

Looks like you should just buy when you travel!

daveb666 - 23/9/13 at 09:52 AM

Cool, thank-you!

My first train riding experience in over 10 years

Phil.J - 23/9/13 at 10:03 AM

Train ticket pricing is an absolute mess bordering on a major scam. I priced a single ticket from Wolverhampton to Newcastle upon Tyne on a Wednesday, stating a travel time on Friday at 10.00AM. Price came up as £27.
Got to the station on the Friday morning to buy the ticket and it was £81!
When I queried this I was told the price of £27 was the price on Wednesday for the Friday journey, the price on Friday for the Friday journey was £81! Go figure.

pekwah1 - 23/9/13 at 10:54 AM

that would be for an "advanced booking".

There are basically a number of advanced booking products that are offered and they are not part of the normal pricing tariff.
If it is a normal train journey, the price is the same any day of the week (except weekends are usually cheaper) depending on peak or off peak.
When you book an advanced booking, you are subject to specific timed trains that you can catch.

designer - 23/9/13 at 11:16 AM

thetrainline.com every time.

dhutch - 23/9/13 at 11:59 AM

quote:
Originally posted by designer
thetrainline.com every time.

Almost all of them use the same software rebadged anyway, the android phone app works well, if not making as much use of the technology available as it could. Ie, you still have to pick up the sodding ticket.

Often if you only have go a stop or two before you collection point you can get away with it, rightly or wrong, alternatively as said often the best option is to buy a ticket on the train for the first leg (say, uttoxeter to stoke) then collect your prebooked tickets at stoke down to wherever your going and back.


Daniel

daveb666 - 23/9/13 at 12:02 PM

quote:
Originally posted by designer
thetrainline.com every time.


trainline.com want a £1.50 booking fee, and I'd still need to go to the station to collect a ticket.

Therefore, I'm at least £1.50 better off for paying on the train.

designer - 23/9/13 at 12:16 PM

quote:

I'd still need to go to the station to collect a ticket


You're going to the station anyway, and you will save more than £1.50 booking through them. I have had some really silly prices for travel.

Once went Dover/London/Leeds/Bradford/Birmingham/Taunton/London/Dover for £59.50!!

daveb666 - 23/9/13 at 12:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by designer
quote:

I'd still need to go to the station to collect a ticket


You're going to the station anyway, and you will save more than £1.50 booking through them. I have had some really silly prices for travel.

Once went Dover/London/Leeds/Bradford/Birmingham/Taunton/London/Dover for £59.50!!


LOL - you clearly haven't read the post properly.

The train station I am starting FROM does not have a ticket machine/booth, I would have to drive to the town centre at some time this week, pay to park up and then collect the ticket from there. I would also incur the £1.50 booking charge, making the total cost £11 + time + parking charges.

pekwah1 has checked the price for an on-train ticket purchase and has confirmed, that it is £9.50.

Therefore, purchasing the ticket on the train will, infact, save me at least £1.50 + parking + time.

[Edited on 23/9/13 by daveb666]

mcerd1 - 23/9/13 at 03:12 PM

quote:
Originally posted by designer
thetrainline.com every time.
really ?
I've just run edinburgh to kings X on 01/11/13 return 02/11/13 (9:30 and 15:00 trains if you want to check, picked as 2 singles)

thetrainline.com want £89.50 +£1.50 booking

scotrail (i.e the ones at the stations up here) want £89.50 +£0.00 to post

but east coast (i.e. the train your actually getting on) want £87.70 +£1.00 to post (and let you pick your seats directly)



in the past I've found that scotrail's price is as good as anyone else, except sometimes the company that is actually running the train your getting on
I've just booked some other tickets and scotrail were a little cheaper than east coast (one train with each company on the same ticket) - and both were cheaper than any booking agent!


so thetrainline.com's £1.50 fee might not be bad - but it actually makes them the most expensive one I've tried


more relevant to the OP - scotrail only charge £6 for special deliver on the tickets (cheapest I've found so far) but they also want £9.50 for the ticket this weekend


[Edited on 23/9/2013 by mcerd1]

JoelP - 23/9/13 at 07:00 PM

I had the same problem the other day! Thinking of a few days in London, tickets were 21 quid. Few weeks later when I wanted to book, they were up to 60!