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UK travel

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Original poster

How on earth do I book a train in the UK these days?!?

37 replies

MsFogi · 22/04/2023 15:37

So I haven't used long distance trains since my 20s and I suspect in those days I just turned up with my student travel card and took whatever was available.
I am just trying to book for me and DD to go to some uni open days. How on earth do you book a train these days - is there no National Rail website to just search and book?!? Do I need to just hope for the best on TrainLine or do I need to work out which line each route is on...I am completely lost!!!
Can some wise MNer explain how a sensible person books long distance trains these days?

OP posts:
ComeOnThenFanny · 22/04/2023 15:38

Trainline is your best bet. Sometimes it's cheapest to book singles and split the journey, but you can find out what's best on there, it's pretty easy to navigate.

pizzaHeart · 22/04/2023 15:38

I think you do this on www.national rail.co.uk

sidee · 22/04/2023 15:38

m.nationalrail.co.uk/pj/pj

Use this?

Book rail every week and it's very easy with this site

AP5Diva · 22/04/2023 15:39

Trainline automatically looks to see if split tickets are cheaper and offers it as a “split/save” price when you search.

Needmorelego · 22/04/2023 15:40

If you know which train company it is just go via their website.

Offleyhoo · 22/04/2023 15:40

We use Trainline and find it fantastic to find cheapest ticket including split fares etc.

Bonkersworknonsense · 22/04/2023 15:41

Is it that difficult to just turn up? I don’t live in the UK now but am coming back for a visit this year.

PuttingDownRoots · 22/04/2023 15:41

Look at various railcards as well. Even just one long distance journey can make them worth while.

Danikm151 · 22/04/2023 15:41

National rail but tickets are only released 12 weeks before

WheelsUp · 22/04/2023 15:43

Trainline is nice and easy plus you have the option of e-tickets so you don't have to worry about losing your ticket.

Needmorelego · 22/04/2023 15:45

@Bonkersworknonsense I don't bother to book in advance. I just buy the tickets at the station. The problem with a lot of pre booked tickets is they are often time specific. You have to get on a particular train. Miss that train - even if there is another one ten minutes later you can't use your ticket on it.
I find it easier and less of a stress to just buy at the station.

Frances24 · 22/04/2023 15:46

Bonkersworknonsense · 22/04/2023 15:41

Is it that difficult to just turn up? I don’t live in the UK now but am coming back for a visit this year.

Train tickets in UK are obscenely expensive booked at the station on the day of travel. Slightly less so if booked online in advance but still much more expensive a lot (most?) of other countries.

QuickGuide · 22/04/2023 15:47

I love Trainline, they often find me a cheaper way (eg split fares) than the national rail website, although you do have to pay a booking fee so if you wanted you could book the same trains through national rail.

If you'll be doing a few journeys it would be worth looking at a 2 Together railcard for you and DD. For £30 (or £10 Tesco vouchers) you get 1/3 off fares for a year.

Needmorelego · 22/04/2023 15:48

@Frances24 to save money I have always used Railcards to get a discount, sometimes get split tickets, or make sure I travel at off-peak or super off-peak.
I can do all that at the station.

Needmorelego · 22/04/2023 15:49

@Frances24 but I agree.... very expensive.

Anamechangeisnotjustforchristmas · 22/04/2023 15:51

I’m another fan of Trainline. They do charge IIRC 50p pp but it’s worth it for the convenience.

QuickGuide · 22/04/2023 15:54

Needmorelego · 22/04/2023 15:45

@Bonkersworknonsense I don't bother to book in advance. I just buy the tickets at the station. The problem with a lot of pre booked tickets is they are often time specific. You have to get on a particular train. Miss that train - even if there is another one ten minutes later you can't use your ticket on it.
I find it easier and less of a stress to just buy at the station.

You pay a lot more that way though. I recently bought a return trip for £9 that would have been £24 on the day and you can book return tickets London to Bristol for 6 weeks time for £46 when they're £75 to buy today.

QuickGuide · 22/04/2023 15:55

Needmorelego · 22/04/2023 15:48

@Frances24 to save money I have always used Railcards to get a discount, sometimes get split tickets, or make sure I travel at off-peak or super off-peak.
I can do all that at the station.

But you can do all of that online and benefit from advance ticket prices too

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 22/04/2023 15:57

Get a Two Together railcard - you will probably only need to do one or two journeys to make it well worth it.

tribpot · 22/04/2023 15:57

I would go with the Two Together railcard (assuming it's the two of you travelling).

I always book direct with the train company, never the Trainline. That's because I want to choose an exact seat on the train, not have one assigned to me. (That's what you get with too much business travel pre-pandemic!). Not possible on every train line even going direct but your best bet.

You will have to choose between saving money and going for a fixed train or paying more for flexibility. If you miss a connection because of a late incoming train, you should be able to get on the next available train, you can have your ticket endorsed.

There are a variety of sites for journey planning. As well as the National Rail site, you've got options like https://traintimes.org.uk which is a very lightweight site, so super quick to load on your phone when out and about. For real time tracking of the train, I like https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk as this will track the train on its journeys before yours if it can, so you can see if the train has been delayed on the inbound journey (or even the previous outbound journey) and have a better sense of how likely a delay is. It also often shows you a picture of the train with which carriage is where - usually only on the day of travel.

CapaciousHag · 22/04/2023 15:57

Not sure what you mean by hope for the best on TrainLine? I’ve used the app countless times - I put in where I’m leaving from and where I’m hoping to get to; if there is a route it shows it, with all necessary connections. (I think it will also show you cheaper, more roundabout journeys, but I always just opt for the direct route.)

Must say, the days when I had to consider which ‘line’ I needed are long gone! I just follow Trainline’s directions and get on the train(s) I‘ve booked, at whichever station(s) is/are indicated. Far, far less arduous than it used to be. No queuing at the station, e-tickets on my phone, seat reserved if I want it, platform indication in the palm of my hand …

(I’m vaguely aware the manner of buying train tickets is in the process of being changed - to single tickets only. Don’t think it’s been implemented yet - and it wouldn’t make any substantive difference to your journeys.)

The trains may be unreliable - but the app is relatively brilliant.

Needmorelego · 22/04/2023 16:07

@QuickGuide it works out best for us to buy at the station.
We live in London and often the most unpredictable part is getting across London to the mainline station we need to leave from. We've lost money a couple of times because we missed a booked train because it took so long to get across.
I know it isn't the cheapest way of doing it but it works for us.
However if I was going on a really really long journey (London up to Scotland or something) I probably would book in advance. I would just have to pretend it's like the airport and leave home several hours early.

ChocChipHandbag · 22/04/2023 16:10

What do you mean "hope for the best on Trainline"? It's a fully searcheable train booking site.

Since this is for you and DD to visit universities, she must be fairly bright- just give her a budget and ask her to research and report back with the options.

GeraltsBathtub · 22/04/2023 16:15

Yes, there is a national rail website which is pretty easy to find so I’m confused by your confusion. You can book tickets on it or through the website or app of any train company. Don’t use trainline, they charge a booking fee for what is free to do via a train company website. It doesn’t even need to be the website of the company that runs the journey, any of them will sell any journey.

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