Hereford to London Paddington

[JoeGJ1984]

Are there any Advance tickets on this flow that involve the direct HSTs from Hereford to London Paddington? I want to try this route out one day, and can't find any Advance tickets on the direct trains and I've looked up to the booking horizons. Do they not do Advance tickets on these trains?

 

[All Line Rover]

No, they do not. I have no idea how busy the trains are so can't comment on FGW's justification for taking that decision.

London to Hereford Advance fares are only available via Newport (starting at a bargain £11.50) or via Birmingham with London Midland (starting at an absolute bargain of £8!).

 

[LexyBoy]

There are no Advance tickets on the Cotswold line route, for some reason. The (Super) Off Peak tickets are rather good value though.

edit: beaten to it! Don't think loadings have much to do with things though, AP fares are to maximise revenue, not balance service loadings.

 

[All Line Rover]

There are no Advance tickets on the Cotswold line route, for some reason. The (Super) Off Peak tickets are rather good value though.

edit: beaten to it! Don't think loadings have much to do with things though, AP fares are to maximise revenue, not balance service loadings.

I'm just thinking that if the infrequent direct trains are already busy, there isn't any point in introducing Advance fares for them.

 

[LexyBoy]

I think they are pretty well loaded - although the Worcester services less so at times and these also have no AP fares.

Advance fares can help promote a service even if they're only available on a limited number of services - so although a headline price gets the punters in, they mostly end up paying the walk-up fare.

 

[Flamingo]

How far out does the NSE Card cover the Cotswold services? (I don't work them). It might be one way of making a saving on them.

 

[sonic2009]

How far out does the NSE Card cover the Cotswold services? (I don't work them). It might be one way of making a saving on them.

Valid as far as Worcester.

 

[[email protected].]

Is their any splits that may make it cheaper?

ie: London to Moreton in marsh ?

 

[bb21]

Is their any splits that may make it cheaper?

ie: London to Moreton in marsh ?

Do you mean cheaper than walk-on tickets to Hereford, or cheaper than Advance fares via alternative routes?

 

[TEW]

AP tickets never existed because the route used to be part of Thames Trains but for some reason they've never been introduced, unlike on the London-Oxford services. A good way of splitting can be buying an AP ticket as far as Oxford with a walk up ticket from Oxford to Hereford, remaining on the same train, as AP tickets are available as far as Oxford.

 

[158757]

Indeed, do as TEW suggests, super off peak ticket from Hereford to Oxford, then advance tickets Oxford-London Paddington.

 

[SickyNicky]

Indeed, do as TEW suggests, super off peak ticket from Hereford to Oxford, then advance tickets Oxford-London Paddington.

However, be aware that off peak and super off peak tickets (between Hereford and Paddington) are valid on any train in the evening peak, whether routed "Any Permitted" or "Via Evesham" (but NOT off peak day returns - these ARE restricted). So if you're travelling in the evening peak, an off-peak ticket might make sense (which kind of makes a mockery of ticket naming and "simplification").

Also note that there is a bug in the data for ticket selling websites which makes them refuse sale of "Any Permitted" off peak and super off peak tickets for trains via Evesham in the evening peak, but they are allowed.

 

[dzug2]

It's rare for there to be advances from Oxford to London on trains that have come from the Cotswold Line - you usually have to wait for the next. Not unknown though. (I've never managed it)