Trains are SO expensive! How on earth do you get a cheap fare now?

[Properdilemma]

Was hoping to book a weekend trip from Cardiff to London, you used to be able to book 12 weeks out and sometimes get a really reasonable fare. I can’t seem to book more than about 4 weeks out now and all prices are through the roof.

I recently saw a TV segment on the local news that train operators were complaining about lack of use and how trains were empty.

If they made the fares reasonable more people would use them!

Any tips on getting cheap fares please?

Yes I agree and I think they've gone up. We have a family and friends railcard but even with that fares can be extortionate, especially for weekend trips away it seems. By the time you factor in hotel costs you'd probably be looking at the same price as going on a trip abroad.

What do you consider expensive?
When do you want to travel?

Look out for a company called Lumo who are running London - Edinburgh and various other trains at much cheaper prices hopefully they will disrupt the industry and lead to wider change.

I used to live in Japan. You could travel half an hour on only the equivalent of around £3. Beautifully clean, fast, precisely on time transport. Buses were just as amazing. British public transport has become ridiculous.

Sorry that read an hour, not half an hour.

We recently got a Two Together railcard which has more than paid for itself within a month. Sometimes split tickets or two singles work out cheaper than a return,

Railcards plus advance tickets on off peak routes and you can usually get a reasonable price

The national rail website is clunky and awkward to use too. It’s really not making it easy and good value to book a train. So no wonder passenger footfall has dropped. They need to try and make up for the lack of commuters by making it easy, accessible and good value for all.

I have Tesco clubcard points that I could use to buy railcards. I’ll look into that, thanks

I was hoping to book in November or December but it’s too far in advance and nothing is available to book. Was hoping for max £50 per person return. We can go on the mega bus for peanuts but the train is quicker

I used to get cheap tickets from the website ‘trainline’ so long as i booked in advance

I agree, trains in the UK are very expensive, and the ticket system is unnecessarily complicated.

I also heard the rail companies complaining that people aren't returning fast enough, and I wonder if they understand why that is.

Try other train booking places, I found NR has always been more expensive than other operators.

Also have. a look on MSE they have a tool that helps to find the cheapest option.

And clear you cookies in between each search

A family member needed to travel quite a long way in the UK on Friday (had been intending to drive but car broke down) and when she checked the price of train tickets the night before, it would have been over £200, yet she could have bought a plane ticket for around £35. Fortunately car got mended in time, but geez the difference in price between train and plane was astounding.

Try looking at Trainsplit

All the main booking sites have the same inventory, so you won't find cheaper on one than the other.

Looking at GWR, tickets are available for weekdays into December, but the fares are very high. You used to be able to set an email alert so they tell you when your dates are available, but that option doesn't come up now either. I'd set your own alert and check once a week. Also sign up for their general emails for sales.

No point in looking at split ticketing until the lower fare tickets have been released.

You can get a Railcard with Tesco points and not even notice you've spent any money.

It depends on who you're taking, who will use it.

Really helps.

I use Trainline for tickets although they're all much of a muchness tbh.

I gave up on the trains when the prices started going crazy. I am in Bristol and the National Express Coach was always reasonably priced - usually less than £15 return, it obviously takes a bit longer but the seats are comfortable. Is that an option?

There are several ways to try and get cheaper tickets, but there's a fair amount of legwork.

1. Look at all the ticket options, and timings. Open returns cost more. Travelling after 10pm and before 4pm is cheaper. Some "quiet" services are offered at a special rate to encourage the travellers to fill up their train. Fixed return tickets are cheaper, but you HAVE to use the booked train. Sometimes two singles are cheaper.

1. Ticket splitting: this is when you buy lots of little journeys (splitting the ticket) instead of one ticket. Train Operators hate people doing this, but sometimes it works out cheaper.

1. National Railcards: Sometimes buying a NR card will get you back more than the money you paid for it on one trip. Tney are usually £30 a year. Recently I bought a Two Together NRC because I still saved a fiver on top! This was LNER London to Edinburgh. Then DH and I can use it again within a year and STILL be quids in.

1. Trainline and other third party companies are convenient but I've always found buying deals from the train operator ditect.is a good way to go. From Cardiff GWR take you to London, so downliad the GWR app on your phone and keep the notifications on, and GWR will tell you when they are releasing offer tickets over the next 2-3 months. You have to be quick as they.sell out quickly.

I am a total nerd about this because I don't have a driving licence and use trains often. My mum is the same.

No point looking on any other websites, it's all the same fares (and trainline charge a booking fee unless they've dropped that more recently).

£50 return is quite ambitious, but definitely keep an eye on advance tickets being released, see if you're eligible for any of the railcards, and check out split ticketing.

I took so long typing I cross-posted with some pp. Apologies.

You could drive to an.outer zone tube station and stay nearby. Is that an.option?

It’s just over an hour on a train from where I am to Waterloo, and £100 day return if I want to go before 10 on a weekday. Even at a weekend it’s a crazy price. It is so, so much cheaper to drive and pay for London parking.

www.splitticketing.com/

Trains are a complete rip off. We have Scotrail, about 40 quid for just over an hours journey and the majority of the time they are late or cancelled. I think the company running them have lost their contract due to the shit service they provide and it's due to go back in to public ownership (I think) in the next little while.