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Penrith to Glasgow daily travel

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nhkchef

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Hi all, i'm being forced from a homeworker to work out of my glasgow office which is 1hr 30mins away from my house (Penrith). Pre Covid i went once a week and it was paid for by the company. I'g going for a promotion but this will mean spending probably £5000-£6000 a year on Penrith to Glasgow round trips! i'm looking for some way to make it as cheap as possible as can't afford to lose money by taking a new job.
I was looking into Credit Cards for Train Cashback/Benefits, RailCards, member deals etc....would anyone be able to think of any way to keep the costs down? Thanks very much in Advance. Nick
 
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Watershed

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Welcome to the forums. So we can give you a comprehensive answer, could you tell us:
  • How often you will need to go into the office
  • What time you will need to arrive at Glasgow Central and what time you would be looking to depart
  • Whether you are eligible for any Railcard (i.e. 16-25, 26-30, Senior [60+], Disabled)
 

nhkchef

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Wow! Thanks for the speedy reply....
  • What time you will need to arrive at Glasgow Central and what time you would be looking to depart -
Mon, Tues, Wed probably but this is flexible if there are cheaper days. There was a 07:35 train which got me in for about 09:10 which was perfect but cant see that train running at the moment? I'd do the 6am if the price is much better but would look at others. I'd leave for about 1600-1700
  • Whether you are eligible for any Railcard (i.e. 16-25, 26-30, Senior [60+], Disabled)
No, none of the above unfortunately

Thanks again for the reply
 
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See if they will agree different days on even and odd weeks.

If so, buy a 7-day season ticket on Wednesday of Week 1 to cover working Wed, Thu, Fri in Week 1, and Mon, Tue in Week 2. Add one more day (at daily ticket price) for Wed, Thu, or Friday of Week 2 to make up the 3 days/week.

Then repeat on a fortnightly cycle - annual cost for (say) 48 weeks would be 7-day ticket x 24 plus one-day ticket x 24.
 

Mcr Warrior

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See if they will agree different days on even and odd weeks.

If so, buy a 7-day season ticket on Wednesday of Week 1 to cover working Wed, Thu, Fri in Week 1, and Mon, Tue in Week 2. Add one more day (at daily ticket price) for Wed, Thu, or Friday of Week 2 to make up the 3 days/week.

Then repeat on a fortnightly cycle - annual cost for (say) 48 weeks would be 7-day ticket x 24 plus one-day ticket x 24.
STD annual season something like £7536 on this flow. How does what you propose compare?
 

Watershed

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You're correct, there isn't a 07:30 at present. The 06:30 is your only plausible train if you want to get in for around 9ish, the next itinerary would be 2 hours later and would involve travelling via Oxenholme (due to the skipstop calling pattern, as well as the reduced timetable).

Then you'd want the 17:07 or 17:30 back.

Your cheapest option would be to buy Advance tickets - looking at say tomorrow and next Monday, the 06:30 there and the 17:30 back would cost you £28.60 return. Further ahead it's slightly cheaper than that even, e.g. next Tuesday is £26.30, and the Tuesday after that is £22.80.

Obviously using Advances isn't ideal because it ties you to specific trains, however they seem to be available fairly consistently on all weekdays. Your 'backup' option would be to buy walk-up tickets - that would be £43.20 for two TPE only singles (the 06:30 and 17:07 are both TPE services).

A season ticket costs £188 a week, so even if you alternated your days in so you went in Thu/Fri, then Mon-Wed the next week, it still wouldn't be worthwhile.
 

Haywain

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A season ticket costs £188 a week, so even if you alternated your days in so you went in Thu/Fri, then Mon-Wed the next week, it still wouldn't be worthwhile.
That comment assumes the OP would restrict their travel to TPE services. For flexibility around time of travel and operator, the season price offers reasonable value compared to the Anytime Return fare at £61.60.
STD annual season something like £7536 on this flow. How does what you propose compare?
24 x £188.40 = £4521.60. But the 24 season tickets over the year seems to forget time off for holidays, so the total should actually be lower.
 

Mak1981

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A season ticket would also cover you for leisure travel into Carlisle, factoring that may reduce the overall "cost" ie rather than just commuting it would be commuting and leisure travel for the same price
 

kieron

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24 x £188.40 = £4521.60. But the 24 season tickets over the year seems to forget time off for holidays, so the total should actually be lower.
If you're trying to work out what TheManOnThe172 described (6 days per fortnight, none on weekends), you'd need 24 x (£188.40 + £26.10 + £25.10) = £5750.40. I've used the TPE only anytime single in this calculation because the first Avanti train reaches Glasgow at 1202.

You could take time off for holidays, but you'd probably have to add some of those back in because the fixed fortnightly cycle doesn't match nhkchef's routine perfectly.

Worked out on the same basis, Watershed's "TPE only single" backup suggestion would cost £6220.80 (48 x 3 x (£26.10+£17.10)). The tickets could all be bought on the day of travel, so the only thing which may need to be added is an extra £8 if nhkchef can't catch the TPE train home one day.
 

telstarbox

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What about buying one return ticket per week and staying in an Airbnb in Glasgow? Midweek is usually cheap and you would have less travelling time.
 
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