Rail Fares???

I'm going to the first day of the Ashes Test in Nottingham, on July 10th, and have been looking at rail fares to Notts and they're currently high(well in my opinion they're high!).

Does anyone know if the rail companies actively manipulate prices PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO SPECIFIC-DATE EVENTS SUCH AS THE CRICKET, as they seem to vary significantly around the week of the 8th July, but genuinely seem to be literally all over the place. Looking at their pricing, it suggests that if I wait another week may be able to halve the price of the ticket (and at ~£135 for a return(LON-NOTT) that's quite a lot of on-the-day-hospitality money I could save ): )!

Grateful for any insight on this, or suggestions of how to get a cheap deal (I'm not eligible for any form of Rail-Card as far as I've been able to determine ).

Wait for the advanced fares to be loaded, just check every day.
We wanted to go from Euston To Manchester by virgin trains as we were on the inaugural MAN-LHR VS flight.

When the fares were first released it was about £135 one way for the two of us.

After a few weeks the advanced fares were published and managed to get the same journey for £17.00

I did apply for a friends and family railcard which cost £20 but does save money if you add at least one child onto the booking (cheaper that a single adult fare!!)

Hope this works for you

Good Luck.

The key is usually around 12 weeks before. This is when the operators know if their services will be disrupted by engineering work. If there is going to be disruption, cheap fares will be hard to come by.

Like airlines, train companies will vary the number of cheap advance tickets they make available depending on likely demand. So yes, if they know a particular day's likely to be much busier than normal, they'll offer fewer cheap advance tickets because they know they can sell more higher price tickets.

And of course what few cheap tickets they DO put on sale get snapped up quickly. By the same token, airlines release fewer cheap seats to holiday destinations at Easter, Christmas and in the summer holidays.

It's just common sense from a business point of view. Why sell something for £10 when it'll still sell out at £100?

It could be advance tickets for July 8 haven't gone on sale yet even though you're just inside the 12 week window - otherwise have you looked at alternative routes eg an advance ticket to Derby or Grantham, then an off-peak ticket for a local service to Nottingham?

Wait for the advanced fares to be loaded, just check every day.
We wanted to go from Euston To Manchester by virgin trains as we were on the inaugural MAN-LHR VS flight.

When the fares were first released it was about £135 one way for the two of us.

After a few weeks the advanced fares were published and managed to get the same journey for £17.00

I did apply for a friends and family railcard which cost £20 but does save money if you add at least one child onto the booking (cheaper that a single adult fare!!)

Hope this works for you

Good Luck.

How far ahead are the "advanced" fares released? Are they initially "high-ish" on release then drop?

We're 1 day inside 12 weeks from travel date; does this mean they might drop in a couple of weeks? Seem to be some conflicting views on here (ah the delights of forums)...

Thanks.

I got a midweek First Class return St Pancras to Nottingham in February for £40

I got a midweek First Class return St Pancras to Nottingham in February for £40

...and I can see examples of the route I'm looking for offering <£30 1st class fares, but the question here is the timing of the availability (and yes of course the actual price) of such fares in relation to the actual travel date versus the release of reduced price tickets; i.e. do those great deals happen if you book a long way ahead then rise as the travel date approaches, or do the better deals appear some weeks after the advanced purchase tickets are offered.

I got a midweek First Class return St Pancras to Nottingham in February for £40

...and I can see examples of the route I'm looking for offering <£30 1st class fares, but the question here is the timing of the availability (and yes of course the actual price) of such fares in relation to the actual travel date versus the release of reduced price tickets; i.e. do those great deals happen if you book a long way ahead then rise as the travel date approaches, or do the better deals appear some weeks after the advanced purchase tickets are offered.

I booked in November when the fares were released for my specific dates although the Slash concert I went to was a far more low key event than opening day of the Ashes.

I'm going to the first day of the Ashes Test in Nottingham, on July 10th, and have been looking at rail fares to Notts and they're currently high(well in my opinion they're high!).

Does anyone know if the rail companies actively manipulate prices PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO SPECIFIC-DATE EVENTS SUCH AS THE CRICKET, as they seem to vary significantly around the week of the 8th July, but genuinely seem to be literally all over the place. Looking at their pricing, it suggests that if I wait another week may be able to halve the price of the ticket (and at ~£135 for a return(LON-NOTT) that's quite a lot of on-the-day-hospitality money I could save ): )!

Grateful for any insight on this, or suggestions of how to get a cheap deal (I'm not eligible for any form of Rail-Card as far as I've been able to determine ).

Yes and no.

Advance fares are still quite a new development in the long history of rail, and are a double edged sword.

Rail companies use them to stimulate demand for quiet trains and can charge what the market will bear. However, they release these tickets about three months in advance.

I am not sure where you are traveling from, but the main Inter City operator to Nottingham is East Midlands Trains, and they have Advance fares on sale until 5 July.

See here: East Midlands Trains Low Fare Finder

Rail companies can what they like for full first class fares.

However, some fares are regulated. These cannot be changed without permission from the Department of Transport.

Look out for Off Peak and Super Off Peak Returns. These used to be called Savers and SuperSavers and are generally excellent value as they do not restrict you to one train and, within the confines of 'Off Peak' timings offer excellent flexibility.

Another tip, BTW. Try breaking down the fares into subsections. For instance a day return from Wolverhampton to Reading, would cost about 50 quid. But if you book Wolverhampton to Birmingham International to Banbury to Reading, in 3 seperate tickets. Then it cost a total of 20 quid. Varies according to singles and days, but might work for you.

Another tip, BTW. Try breaking down the fares into subsections. For instance a day return from Wolverhampton to Reading, would cost about 50 quid. But if you book Wolverhampton to Birmingham International to Banbury to Reading, in 3 seperate tickets. Then it cost a total of 20 quid. Varies according to singles and days, but might work for you.

If you do that - ticket splitting - then you need to make sure that the train you are on stops at the intermediary train stations - you will be breaking the fare rules of you ticket if the train doesn't make those stops.


As to the OP of course train companies limit cheap tickets to popular destinations / events.

Just like the airlines do. And Hotels.

How far ahead are the "advanced" fares released? Are they initially "high-ish" on release then drop?

We're 1 day inside 12 weeks from travel date; does this mean they might drop in a couple of weeks? Seem to be some conflicting views on here (ah the delights of forums)...

Could be anytime but mine came up at about 5-6 weeks before travel

Advance fares are released theoretically at T-12 weeks. Never earlier. This is approximate, and occasionally will be delayed especially if there is the possibility of Engineering work that hasn't been fully finalised expected on the day/time in question.

Most TOCs offer an alert system whereby you can register for notification when "cheap" fares for your specific date become available.

The trick to getting low fares is to book as soon as they become available. Once advance fares are released for a particular date/time, thereafter the available rates only ever INcrease as the allocation of lower fares are taken up by customers. The thing you are looking for is a fare that is described as "Advance" - these are the so-called "cheap" rates. Anything else - off-peak, anytime, etc., - are not "discounted" and can be bought right up to just before departure; availability and cost of these never changes.

All fare allocations are driven by the same National Fare system so availability for any given fare on any given train does NOT vary between the various different vendors. Only the method of presentation of fares/services differs so you may find what you are looking for more easily on one site over another.

However, different vendors do charge different handling fees and card surcharges over and above the fare - some are nil and these are the ones to use. And it's often the case that the Train Company who operates the service you intend to use will give a small discount if you book online via their own website. Therefore, once you have found a fare that suits (wherever you find it) its advisable to at least check on the operating TOC's own site for the same date and time service. The TOC serving Nottingham is East Midlands Trains.

Note that the lowest fares are called "Advance" fares. These are only ever sold as singles - so you buy a single fare for each leg of your journey, according to the availability on the service you choose. The fare may differ (sometimes substantially) one way over the other depending on availability and take-up.

And don't be afraid of checking out First Class rates, either. Occasionally (rare) if take-up of Standard low fares has been high and the lowest fares have all gone, there may be similar, or lower, even, rates still available in First.

Do be aware of the draconian restrictions that apply to any pre-booked fare that is described as "Advance". You must travel at exactly the time/date and to/from the exact stations stated on your reservation. Ticket is totally worthless on any other train/time/date and/or at any other station. You can be fined and/or charged a massive premium if you present on the "wrong" train; if you alight before your stated destination or attempt to join after your stated start.

Advance fares are released theoretically at T-12 weeks.

Thanks for this explanation. Very useful.

I travel Liverpool-London a lot. I always get 1st Class advance tickets if they are available as they tend to be available even when Standard Advance aren't.

more than once I've paid £38-£51 for a 1st ticket when the cheapest standard has been £60+.

Always check the providers website, or give them a call - I use Virgin Trains from Liverpool and I have called at 12 weeks even when advance are not showing on the website.

Right then! Looked at the Trainline web site this morning and picked up 2 x 1st Class returns to Notts for the princely sum of £50 each! That'll do nicely 8D .

Nooooo......! Don't use the Trainline! They charge credit card and booking fees... by all means use them to source the ticket but then go to the rail operator website.

Nooooo......! Don't use the Trainline! They charge credit card and booking fees... by all means use them to source the ticket but then go to the rail operator website.

Billy speak the truth !

Nooooo......! Don't use the Trainline! They charge credit card and booking fees... by all means use them to source the ticket but then go to the rail operator website.

Or Redspottedhanky - they give you loyalty points

Cheers
Michael

If it's on the East Coast trains then East Coast rewards are more valuable than redspottedhanky. And if it's non-East Coast trains they will still give you points if it's over £22

If it's on the East Coast trains then East Coast rewards are more valuable than redspottedhanky. And if it's non-East Coast trains they will still give you points if it's over £22

*IF* being the operative word - never travelled on ECT, and there's no qualifying threshold at RSH no matter what TOC booked on (so my previous £16 split ticket return commute always earned points).

YMMV of course... *shrug*

Cheers
Michael

Nooooo......! Don't use the Trainline! They charge credit card and booking fees... by all means use them to source the ticket but then go to the rail operator website.

Oh bugger. Hero to Zero in minutes :# Thought I'd done well on this...

There again with the price of the Test Match ticket, the rail ticket and sundry beverages through-out the day ): , not sure if the £1.00 cc fee is so much to worry about. To be honest, I'll be happy if the trains run on time !

Thx to everyone for their info on this.

Not at all - you got a great deal! Enjoy!!!