I now commute by train - 50% of the time!

[jamesterror]

http://www.thetrainline.com

That is usually a good site for fairs, they work in partnership with NationalRail I believe, also if you've heard of Quidco (http://www.quidco.com) if are able to get a wopping 2% back if your fare is over £25. (Off topic but - that site is good for future reference if you don't have it, I've got £265 in a year back from it).

Went to Oxford and it should of been £28 at peak time, but we got advanced tickets for £12 at any time of travel.

Originally Posted by Stu

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/pj/fa
You should have bought 4 single tickets for £30 instead of 2 return tickets for £80.

HTH

Similar to what I do. 2 single tickets (one going, one coming back) costing £22 compared to a return of £65. Bargain. It strikes me as funny that a lot of people have issues with booking tickets just a week in advance, saves loads and yet they still prefer to get the ticket on the day or the day before. Obviously there are different circumstances but for a trip you know you want to make in the near future it makes perfect sense to me!

You lot are all very very lucky!

Around here, we have 2 lines. One Holyhead - Chester, the other Llandudno Junction - Cardiff.

The Cardiff line regularly gets flooded by the Conwy river, which takes the line out of action for months at a time.

The Chester line runs approx every hour, if the trains turn up. This line is also succeptable to flooding in places, and freight takes priority over commuter trains.

The few times I've used the trains, they've been decent, if late, and quite a pleasent experience. But the lines don't run anywhere that I need to go with any regularity.

Originally Posted by Baph

But the lines don't run anywhere that I need to go with any regularity.

The line in Aberystwyth only goes to Birmingham lol, if you wanted to go to South Wales you'd have to change at Shrewsbury first

[Biker Biggles]

Yes but Aberystwyth is the back end of nowhere.Last time I passed through they were using steam engines.

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Yes but Aberystwyth is the back end of nowhere.Last time I passed through they were using steam engines.

Yes, there is a steam engine for tourists that takes you to Devil's Bridge, a place you can only get to by car or steam train lol. I must admit the bus services in Aber are pretty good, I got all the way to Swansea and back with an £8 day ticket, great. However the journey there does take 3 hours...

Originally Posted by jamesterror

http://www.thetrainline.com

That is usually a good site for fares.

I used to work on the IT systems for Virgin trains booking line, which later became 'thetrainline.com', but that was 6 or 7 years ago. The service was delivered by Capgemini, then later on Vertex who bought all Capgemini's BPM buisness at the time. The call centers were at Gorgie in Edinburgh and at Dingwall, near Inverness.

The fares and routes were calculated by a national system called Tracks (or an acronym/abbreviation of the same), and all the booking systems tap into the same database, so it doesn't matter if you go to thetrainline, National Rail, the train operator, or anyone else that uses the Tracks system. The same fares and routes should be available. You may find the train operator offers additional discounts over and above that listed on Tracks, but sometimes only if you book through thier website, so worth a visit when booking advance tickets.

That was how it worked in those days anyway.

It's worth noting that thetrainline charge an agents booking fee, and a credit card suppliment. Assuming you want to collect the ticket at a self service machine and all you need is a booking reference, I think you shouldn't be charged a booking fee. Book 'direct' on a different website such as national rail or some train operators and you won't pay this.

[yorkie_chris]

The way I've used that is to find what sort of ticket I want on trainline then go down to the station and buy it there.