Best ticket(s) for triangle, Southampton-Brighton-London

AndyLandy · 29th May 2012, 18:19

Hi,

A friend of mine needs to make a triangular journey next week, travelling on Monday from Southampton (or ideally from St Deny's, but SOU will do) to Brighton, then on Saturday from Brighton to London and finally on Sunday from London back to Southampton (or SDN). He holds a valid Y-P railcard.

The best I could come up with is an Offpeak return SOU-BTN and an Offpeak return BTN-VIC, totalling somewhere in the £35 region with Y-P discount, although it would involve travelling from London to Soton via Brighton on the way back.

So, I was wondering if any of the lovely fares experts on here can think of a better way of making this journey?

Many thanks in advance.

Ivo · 29th May 2012, 18:30

Something wrong with the direct Southampton to London fare? An SVR with YP is £26.

AndyLandy · 29th May 2012, 18:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivo

Something wrong with the direct Southampton to London fare? An SVR with YP is £26.

How would you incorporate the Brighton component though?

Ivo · 29th May 2012, 18:32

Oh, I see where you're coming from now. Sorry.

I didn't see the "Saturday" note.

AndyLandy · 29th May 2012, 18:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivo

Oh, I see where you're coming from now. Sorry.

I didn't see the "Saturday" note.

Sorry, I guess my post wasn't tremendously clear.

We did originally look at SOU-CLJ and CLJ-BTN fares, but that was about £10 more and would require some Oyster-based tomfoolery to get into London proper.

Ivo · 29th May 2012, 18:38

Try a SOU-BTN SVR routed NOT LONDON. This is valid as far as Clapham Junction, where BoJ would come in to play. You would need to find a means to get from CLJ to wherever your friend is going, using "Oyster-based tomfoolery" or similar, but it'll still save a fair few pounds. This ticket costs <£17.

(Post moved from above to make it clearer to the OP.)

Slough · 29th May 2012, 18:38

Southern day save or all network downlander works out at £12 a day .

AndyLandy · 29th May 2012, 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivo

Try a SOU-BTN SVR routed NOT LONDON. This is valid as far as Clapham Junction, where BoJ would come in to play. You would need to find a means to get from CLJ to wherever your friend is going, using "Oyster-based tomfoolery" or similar, but it'll still save a fair few pounds. This ticket costs <£17.

(Post moved from above to make it clearer to the OP.)

I wondered about that, but is it within the terms of the ticket to break a journey overnight? He'd be taking the BTN-CLJ section on the Saturday, breaking for London and returning to CLJ the following day to get back to SOU.

Ivo · 29th May 2012, 18:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyLandy

I wondered about that, but is it within the terms of the ticket to break a journey overnight? He'd be taking the BTN-CLJ section on the Saturday, breaking for London and returning to CLJ the following day to get back to SOU.

It's an SVR. Unless explicitly noted in the ticket's specific restrictions, this is always permitted (well, it's that simple on the return leg anyway).

In this case, the restriction code is 4B, which mentions nothing of the sort.

On one day last year I was just three minutes from having to break overnight on an SVR return leg twice.

AndyLandy · 29th May 2012, 18:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivo

It's an SVR. Unless explicitly noted in the ticket's specific restrictions, this is always permitted (well, it's that simple on the return leg anyway).

In this case, the restriction code is 4B, which mentions nothing of the sort.

On one day last year I was just three minutes from having to break overnight on an SVR return leg twice.

In which case, this looks like it's ideal! Many thanks for your input, it's been really helpful.

Ivo · 29th May 2012, 18:51

Not a problem.

I believe all services from Brighton from Victoria, apart from a few Gatwick Express services on weekdays, stop at CLJ, so you won't need to worry about ensuring your train stops there. I'm not sure if all services from Waterloo to Southampton stop there, but certainly at least some do.

EDIT: XX05 and XX39 from WAT (XX12 and XX46 from CLJ). The XX35 departures from WAT do not.

Eagle · 29th May 2012, 18:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivo

I'm not sure if all services from Waterloo to Southampton stop there, but certainly at least some do.

They all do on Sundays (including the one in question, 10 June).

None, however, stop at St Denys.

AndyLandy · 29th May 2012, 19:04

It also looks like the XX:20 off Waterloo calls at CLJ. (Change at Basingstoke for an XC service back to Southampton)

Mutant Lemming · 29th May 2012, 19:12

The Southern site has an £8.55 off peak day single Southampton-Brighton for the Monday (web only fare) and a fluctuating £2.65 to £5.30 webfare Brighton-London on the Saturday (both with railcards) - sometimes you see the £2.65 and sometimes it seems to hide. On the Monday Megatrain have three Waterloo-Southampton services at £6. Even the cheapest option of those would only be 50p less than the £17 fare above and would restrict you to particular trains..

AndyLandy · 29th May 2012, 19:21

Just to add a spanner in the works, what's the best way to do:

BTN-CLJ on Saturday
CLJ-SOU on Sunday
SOU-BTN a few days later?

It's essentially the inverse of the route above, but more tricky since you can't do a longer-than-a-day BoJ on the outbound portion. Is there a clever answer to this? It would need to be using the same Saturday and Sunday trains as the first query.

29th May 2012, 18:19	#1
AndyLandy Member Join Date: 30 Oct 2011 Location: Southampton, UK Posts: 797	Best ticket(s) for triangle, Southampton-Brighton-London Hi, A friend of mine needs to make a triangular journey next week, travelling on Monday from Southampton (or ideally from St Deny's, but SOU will do) to Brighton, then on Saturday from Brighton to London and finally on Sunday from London back to Southampton (or SDN). He holds a valid Y-P railcard. The best I could come up with is an Offpeak return SOU-BTN and an Offpeak return BTN-VIC, totalling somewhere in the £35 region with Y-P discount, although it would involve travelling from London to Soton via Brighton on the way back. So, I was wondering if any of the lovely fares experts on here can think of a better way of making this journey? Many thanks in advance.

29th May 2012, 18:30	#2
Ivo Starmie Established Member Join Date: 8 Jan 2010 Location: Bath (or Southend) Posts: 7,057	Something wrong with the direct Southampton to London fare? An SVR with YP is £26. __________________ Official Member of the Bath & Wells FirstGroup Bus Customer Panel Starmie

29th May 2012, 18:32	#4
Ivo Starmie Established Member Join Date: 8 Jan 2010 Location: Bath (or Southend) Posts: 7,057	Oh, I see where you're coming from now. Sorry. I didn't see the "Saturday" note. __________________ Official Member of the Bath & Wells FirstGroup Bus Customer Panel Starmie

29th May 2012, 18:38	#6
Ivo Starmie Established Member Join Date: 8 Jan 2010 Location: Bath (or Southend) Posts: 7,057	Try a SOU-BTN SVR routed NOT LONDON. This is valid as far as Clapham Junction, where BoJ would come in to play. You would need to find a means to get from CLJ to wherever your friend is going, using "Oyster-based tomfoolery" or similar, but it'll still save a fair few pounds. This ticket costs <£17. (Post moved from above to make it clearer to the OP.) __________________ Official Member of the Bath & Wells FirstGroup Bus Customer Panel Starmie

29th May 2012, 18:51	#11
Ivo Starmie Established Member Join Date: 8 Jan 2010 Location: Bath (or Southend) Posts: 7,057	Not a problem. I believe all services from Brighton from Victoria, apart from a few Gatwick Express services on weekdays, stop at CLJ, so you won't need to worry about ensuring your train stops there. I'm not sure if all services from Waterloo to Southampton stop there, but certainly at least some do. EDIT: XX05 and XX39 from WAT (XX12 and XX46 from CLJ). The XX35 departures from WAT do not. __________________ Official Member of the Bath & Wells FirstGroup Bus Customer Panel Starmie

29th May 2012, 18:38	#7
Slough Member Join Date: 13 Apr 2012 Posts: 44	Southern day save or all network downlander works out at £12 a day .

29th May 2012, 19:04	#13
AndyLandy Member Join Date: 30 Oct 2011 Location: Southampton, UK Posts: 797	It also looks like the XX:20 off Waterloo calls at CLJ. (Change at Basingstoke for an XC service back to Southampton)

29th May 2012, 19:12	#14
Mutant Lemming Established Member Join Date: 8 Aug 2011 Location: London Posts: 1,214	The Southern site has an £8.55 off peak day single Southampton-Brighton for the Monday (web only fare) and a fluctuating £2.65 to £5.30 webfare Brighton-London on the Saturday (both with railcards) - sometimes you see the £2.65 and sometimes it seems to hide. On the Monday Megatrain have three Waterloo-Southampton services at £6. Even the cheapest option of those would only be 50p less than the £17 fare above and would restrict you to particular trains..

29th May 2012, 19:21	#15
AndyLandy Member Join Date: 30 Oct 2011 Location: Southampton, UK Posts: 797	Just to add a spanner in the works, what's the best way to do: BTN-CLJ on Saturday CLJ-SOU on Sunday SOU-BTN a few days later? It's essentially the inverse of the route above, but more tricky since you can't do a longer-than-a-day BoJ on the outbound portion. Is there a clever answer to this? It would need to be using the same Saturday and Sunday trains as the first query.