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Luton to Manchester

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MrCub

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Hi there - please help if you can!

I am travelling from Luton on 9th June to Manchester, returning on 10th June. I would like to depart Luton at around 2.30-3.30pm and Manchester at around 3.45pm-4.30pm.

When I checked a short time ago, National Rail was suggesting an off-peak return for approx £60. Now it has disappeared. Did I imagine it? It is currently suggesting only an Anytime return for £240 - the expenses dept are going to be less than happy with that.

Any suggestions?

Mr Cub
 
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ashworth

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Off Peak Return is £54.60.
I found plenty of choices of train at this fare by looking at National Express East Coast website.

This fare is available via VT bus from Luton to Milton Keynes Central or there is a much wider choice of trains at this price by traveliing via Sheffield.
 

clagmonster

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The supersaver return, route Chesterfield, priced at £54.60 would not be valid on the bus to Milton Keynes. On the outward you are restrictd to trains that depart St Pancras between 10:26-15:00, or 18:59 onwards. This would be suitable for your outward journey. Coming back, you need to be on trains that arrive at St Pancras from 11:29 onwards, which again would suit your times.
If you wish to travel via Milton Keynes, there is a route not London saver return, priced at £56.10. Yu may leave Luton at any time between 09:01-16:29, or from 18:59. Coming back you must arrive at Luton from 10:04 onwards.
If you want to go out one way and back the other, you can buy a route Chesterfield ticket and excess the portion for which you want to go via Milton Keynes to a route not London for half the difference in prices of the tickets (in this case 75p). You must do this at astaffed booking office before you start travelling on that particular leg.
 

richa2002

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Deary do, just reminds me how much easier this journey was when the 'Rio' services were running. Disgrace they were removed totally.
 

MrCub

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Hi there

Many thanks once again for your advice. I knew I'd not imagined it - I wonder what I was doing wrong when I searched earlier.

Just to add to the confusion, I thought I'd ask at Luton ticket office and I'm sorry to report they couldn't have been less interested. The remark from one nasty member of staff was 'That's Virgin Trains - do we look like Virgin Trains staff? No! So why would we know?'. I replied that I thought you could get information from any staffed station for any route to any destination... she just huffed and said I was holding up the queue. Cow!

Anyway, drama solved - thanks again for advice on here. Very helpful group of people on here

Mr Cub
 

ashworth

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Deary do, just reminds me how much easier this journey was when the 'Rio' services were running. Disgrace they were removed totally.

When I was checking up on this it made me think how much easier lots of journeys to the north would be if EMT would have their fast Sheffield services at stop at either Luton or Bedford.
Perhaps Bedford would be best and then passengers from St Albans, Luton, Luton Airport, etc could change at Bedford for quick journeys to South Yorkshire and other destinations in the north. Not everyone wants to go to London or travel via London.

Surely if the St Pancras-Sheffield service only called at Bedford, Leicester, Derby and Chesterfield it would still be a fast service and provide lots of easier journeys opportunities for passengers from both Luton and Bedford to the north. The EMT policy of stopping at all stations or no stations south of Leicestershire has never made for fast journeys north from Bedford etc.
 

A60K

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Just to add to the confusion, I thought I'd ask at Luton ticket office and I'm sorry to report they couldn't have been less interested. The remark from one nasty member of staff was 'That's Virgin Trains - do we look like Virgin Trains staff? No! So why would we know?'. I replied that I thought you could get information from any staffed station for any route to any destination... she just huffed and said I was holding up the queue. Cow!

You should certainly be able to get that information from Luton. An e-mail to FCC customer services would be a good idea (assume it is FCC not EMT running Luton?). Their staff training may be to blame, but that doesn't excuse rudeness - and all the information they needed to give you should be available on the ticket office systems.


 

yorkie

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The remark from one nasty member of staff was 'That's Virgin Trains - do we look like Virgin Trains staff? No! So why would we know?'.
What was her name? That needs reporting. They are obliged to be impartial.
 

MrCub

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If I thought it would be appropriate to put her name in here, I would; but something tells me it wouldn't be quite right to do so.

Seriously though, the staff at Luton have a real attitude problem; the gate staff are absolutely fine and deal really well with some horrid passengers being frightfully rude to them. The ticket office staff, however, are just dreadful - slow, inaccurate and this woman in particular is really unpleasant.

I've already complained about her on another occasion for yelling at me across the station much to the embarrassment of her colleagues who couldn't have been nicer in an attempt to apologise for her remarks.

Alas, she is still there, still being slow and still being rude!
 

asylumxl

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Seriously though, the staff at Luton have a real attitude problem; the gate staff are absolutely fine and deal really well with some horrid passengers being frightfully rude to them. The ticket office staff, however, are just dreadful - slow, inaccurate and this woman in particular is really unpleasant.

I've never had a problem with any of the staff. They've always been helpful in providing me with the cheapest fares possible eg group tickets to places etc.
 
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