Train travel pricing mystery

[frogatthefarriers]

With my March BaM still not done I thought to try a few more miles of the Sarn Helen. I’ve done a first leg a couple of years ago - Conwy to Blaenau - this time it would be Blaenau to Mach, so to the train app to book/buy tickets. Simples. Train to Blaenau Festiniog from Wrexham £6.50.

Cheap, or what?

But then I found that my free bus pass can be used on some train services including Llandudno Junction to Blaenau so I just needed to pay for the leg to Llandudno. Yay! Even cheaper.

Not so. The fare to Llandudno was £21.50.

Now I just need the weather forecast to be right.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've never understood how train prices work or the reasoning behind them. Like so many things in life that I don't understand, I simply put it down to 'magic'.

[boxelder]

I've been looking for tickets to Inverness, for a Badger Divide trip. £135 from Carlisle - unless you go on any Tuesday afternoon at 3pm, when it's £23.

[voodoo_simon]

Chester to Machynlleth (return) was over £50 when I looked a month or so ago

[belugabob]

I get the impression that you're not supposed to understand the pricing 'logic'

A while back my brother-in-law wanted to visit his brother, in Glasgow, and there was a TV advert along the lines of 'Glasgow, from £10 return' (or some other ridiculously low price, that escapes me, right now)

He tried to book a ticket, but could only find tickets that cost over £100, so he asked me to look.

I couldn't find anything, either, so I emailed the train company, and basically said...
"Trying to book one of you £10 tickets, to Glasgow, but can't find it on the website. It's for my retired brother-in-law who is 'careful with his money' so, even if he has to travel at 3am, on a wet Wednesday in February, that's fine - just tell me when this price is available"

The response was along the lines of "These are stealth prices, that we issue on a one-per-train basis - so don't even think about travelling with a friend - and only on a one-train-per-blue-moon basis, so you'll just have to keep randomly searching the website, in the forlorn hope of getting lucky"

And they wonder why people drive everywhere...

[belugabob]

I get the impression that you're not supposed to understand the pricing 'logic'

A while back my brother-in-law wanted to visit his brother, in Glasgow, and there was a TV advert along the lines of 'Glasgow, from £10 return' (or some other ridiculously low price, that escapes me, right now)

He tried to book a ticket, but could only find tickets that cost over £100, so he asked me to look.

I couldn't find anything, either, so I emailed the train company, and basically said...
"Trying to book one of you £10 tickets, to Glasgow, but can't find it on the website. It's for my retired brother-in-law who is 'careful with his money' so, even if he has to travel at 3am, on a wet Wednesday in February, that's fine - just tell me when this price is available"

The response was along the lines of "These are stealth prices, that we issue on a one-per-train basis - so don't even think about travelling with a friend - and only on a one-train-per-blue-moon basis, so you'll just have to keep randomly searching the website, in the forlorn hope of getting lucky"

And they wonder why people drive everywhere...

(Travelling around Japan by train for 12 days, however, was an absolute joy)

[thenorthwind]

Trying to find the logic is the quick route to insanity.

A post came up in my Facebook memories yesterday from a couple of years ago when I was whingeing about being able to buy a ticket for the same train for a third of the price on a different site from the company operating the train

Part of the "logic" (but actually not logical at, obviously) is the system of advance (specific train, much cheapness) and open tickets. It used to be that you could only buy advance tickets for longer journeys (dunno if there was a cut-off distance/time), so you had to buy open tickets for shorter journeys, which didn't matter so much because they were cheaper anyway. But now there are really long journeys where there are no advance tickets available - e.g. I booked a train from Crianlarich to Newcastle (a 7 hour journey) and the only way to book one ticket with "Crianlarich to Newcastle" on it would have been to have bought an open ticket for something like £90. That's where the split ticketing websites are useful.

And they wonder why people drive everywhere...

Very much this.

[JackT]

This website lists every fare for every journey on the UK rail network. Useful to work out what the basic parameters are, and helps to time your travel to get the cheapest fares.

https://www.brfares.com

The various ticket spitter sites can sometimes be helpful.

[belugabob]

This website lists every fare for every journey on the UK rail network. Useful to work out what the basic parameters are, and helps to time your travel to get the cheapest fares.

https://www.brfares.com

The various ticket spitter sites can sometimes be helpful.

Thanks for that link.
However, its mere existence, and the sheer number of ticket options that it offers for a simple route (Gatwick to Plymouth - which is 1 change) confirms just how messed up the system is

[faustus]

It is very messed up: I believe there's an unholy mix of some operators using peak time frames to increase prices to (historically) try and manage demand, and this messes up longer journey pricing hence split ticketing, then other operators are doing it a bit like airlines with some seats at cheaper prices at certain points in time before the journey.

Last time I used the trainline.com it did the split ticketing automatically for you, so worth using that to check prices.

[woodsmith]

Has anyone found a split ticketing site that allows for bike reservations. Seems like an impossible dream.

[thenorthwind]

Has anyone found a split ticketing site that allows for bike reservations. Seems like an impossible dream.

Dream on

(Sorry )

[frogatthefarriers]

So, if you want to give the gods a laugh, tell them your plans.

I booked my train tickets t'other day. Today I booked my PCR test after two +ve LFTs.

The tickets are non-refundable though I can change the timings but they charge £10 per ticket. I have two tickets per journey! So £40. If I buy new tickets it’ll cost £37 ish. Helpful or what?

[ledburner]

I once got Huddersfield - Wakefield- London first class for £15. The 2nd class was more expensive.. same train. to get it any cheaper I meant an over night start and at least 4 connections. it was a 5.30 am train...but I got free fresh coffee...

[ledburner]

Has anyone found a split ticketing site that allows for bike reservations. Seems like an impossible dream.

Dream on

(Sorry )

bike in a wheelie bin liner..... it just a 'bike shaped parcel' by the bike rack....