Best ways to get cheap train tickets.

[CoddledAsAMommet]

Hi. Dd1 is about to start university, which is a 6 hour drive from home.
Does anyone know a good way of getting really cheap train tickets? I can book well in advance as we will know her term dates.
I'm sure there used to be ways of getting advance tickets for a fraction of the real cost but can't find any real bargains. Thank you!

Is this for her, or you to visit her? Either way look into railcards (student railcard for her, maybe a 2 for 1 for you?) for a discount, these usually have an upfront cost but pay for themselves within 4-5 journeys.

Otherwise I find the trainline a good website, I don't usually actually book through them as they sometimes have higher booking fees than the individual train company websites but I use it to work out cheapest routes/times, I find it easier to use than National Rail which also has a journey planner. You often need to keep checking at different times as there are cheaper advance tickets on many routes but they don't always seem to all be released at once so you may need to work out how it's best for your DD's route. Some routes do also have a cheaper alternative e.g. South West trains do some similar routes to First Great Western, SW are usually slower but cheaper. And on some routes you can do a 'split ticket' option where you buy one ticket to station A and then a second ticket station A to destination which bizarrely can sometimes be cheaper than just one ticket direct to destination.

But overall I have to say train travel does seem more expensive now than 10 years ago and I feel a lot of these 'hacks'/loopholes seem less available than before. I've taken to sometimes using National Express or MegaBus coaches instead of the trains (weirdly MegaBus site also sells train tickets for some journeys also) which tends to be slower but much cheaper than the train...

Thays really helpful thank you. I was thinking of the days when you could get a ticket the length of the country for £5 or so if you booked it early enough! It's such a shame that train journeys are so expensive as it forces us to use the car. We're going to London tomorrow and driving, parking and Congestion charge is still cheaper than 5 people travelling on the train!

Are you North or south?

I’ve just booked two months train commute for September and October for £1 each way with Northern trains £1 sale.

Other than that (if you live elsewhere) get a railcard and book 12 weeks in advance on Trainline. As soon as the cheap tickets are released.

16-25 railcard for her, friends and family railcard for you, but trains are sadly often pretty expensive whatever you do. Megabus is generally the cheapest option.

I've used www.splitticketing.com/ many times for work, does save a few quid!

Oh OP, you are hilarious.

On a recent day out it cost me and my kids £50 to travel by train. Fifty bloody quid to go an hour down the road. And people wonder why everyone drives everywhere now. It wouldn't have cost me half that to park all day.

Advance tickets usually go on sale 3-6 months before travel dates. Not all routes offer them, it tends to only be the longer distance journeys. LNER have a sign up for alerts when your travel dates go on sale, other operators may do the same.
I've found that the price can go up once you deviate off a route that doesn't offer advance tickets so it can be cheaper to split your ticketing options. e.g. I did Edinburgh to Middlesbrough and doing an advance ticket Edinburgh - Darlington (where I had to change trains anyway) and then a walk up fare for Darlington - Middlesbrough was cheaper than booking an advance ticket Edinburgh- Middlesbrough.
I wouldn't use trainline as they charge a booking fee and are an agent for the main operators. Book direct with the Operator as they also tend to be easier to get refunds from if you're delayed / cancelled.
Also check first class as it's sometimes cheaper or only a few £ more than standard.
Get her a young persons railcard.
Browse dates / fares if she can be a bit flexible - you'll never get a cheap deal on a Friday evening but mid morning or Saturday morning you might.
There's little logic in the pricing structure, I can often go half way across the country for less than a standard fare 45minutes on a local route!
If it's 6 hours away also consider flying if she's anywhere near an airport.