Glasgow to Rotherham - Booking Horizons and Split Tickets?

I'm heading up to Glasgow on Friday July 6th in the afternoon and returning Sunday July 8th around lunchtime, and am looking at my ticket options. It appears I'm late for having a choice of good deals on the Friday, but early for the Sunday as the booking horizons are quite different for weekends on VTWC and Northern. I'd like to vary the route there and back for a change of scenery, and potentially avoid the ECML as I usually go that way when travelling for work.

On the Friday there's a TP ticket Sheffield to Glasgow for £42. It's slightly annoying they won't throw-in the Rotherham sector, but despite this it is by far and away the best deal for the time I need to go. Will this pretty definitely be a 350 from Manchester? Are they comfy for this length of journey?

For the return there's a VTEC ticket for £40 which I could go for, but I see for sooner dates there are £33 tickets for changing at Carlisle onto the Northern service all the way to Meadowhall. I assume that will be on a 158 which may be a bit painful for 4hr+, but I've never done the Settle route so I am tempted. It seems NT's booking horizon is only a month for Sunday Advance tickets, so I'll likely lose my VTEC option before seeing if the Northern option comes available. Similarly VTWC seem to have short booking horizons for Sundays.

Any good split ticket options which could be my 'lifeboat' in case of waiting for an Advance which never materialises, or in the event of missing my booked service?

Thanks!

Have you tried using TrainSplit’s website?

It’s normally been a 350 whenever I’ve gone up to Scotland with TPE but did get swapped for a 185 once due to problems with the original unit.

S&C is great - definitely worth doing.

The S&C, even with a 158 is well worth going on

Just make sure if you do go Meadowhall to Carlisle, you leave a bit more of a wait at Meadowhall - as I'm sure you know, it's single track out of Rotherham towards the main line to Meadowhall, hence why trains can sit in Rotherham for a while as the inbound service is late

(Just a bit of friendly advice from someone who commutes there every day)

Trainsplit offers journeys via Preston giving returns for £74

It’s a shame you cannot leave Friday morning as there are a couple of £27 options as you’ve likely seen.

If I were taking this journey, I would plan to travel via the Settle & Carlisle line in both directions, and to use this combination of fully flexible tickets:

• Anytime Short Distance Return (SHR) Rotherham Central - Shipley route not via Doncaster £16.00. Valid outward 1 day, return 1 month.
  
• Anytime Return (SOR) Leeds - Glasgow Cen route via Appleby £59.00. Valid outward 5 days, return 1 month.

Total £75.00

This combination gives two valid tickets in each direction for the short distance between Leeds and Shipley, but I would choose it instead of the simple split at Shipley (which is the same price) because it gives greater flexibility if I needed to obtain an excess fare to return by a different route. Prices assume that Jamp is not eligible to purchase any national Railcard.

Thanks for the replies with some good ideas. Unfortunately I panic bought the TPE Advance to get up there before I saw John or Sonic's bargain routings. I'm hoping the Northern booking horizon is going to extend to my given Sunday tomorrow and I'll be able to get a bargain Advance back by the S&C route. The friends I'm meeting up in Glasgow are flying so are committed to a return time, so I can commit also. But if anyone has an alternative clever split for flexible singles, I'm all ears.

Who did you book the TPE Advance with? I hear TPE themselves offer refunds now if you wanted to get rid of it.

I booked with TPE but am inclined to keep the ticket and try out the route, provided I can get a cheap single back again via another route for the variety. The VTEC ticket is still available at £40 but National Rail's booking horizons say Northern tickets for July 8th have come available today, yet there are no Advances available for my route. There's one for the coming Sunday at only £25 (albeit with replacement bus Glasgow to Carlisle), and Sundays throughout June for £33 (no bus), but nothing loaded yet for July. Is it just a matter of waiting or have Northern potentially stopped issuing Advances for the route after June?

gray1404 said:

Who did you book the TPE Advance with? I hear TPE themselves offer refunds now if you wanted to get rid of it.

Click to expand...

That's wrong. Rather, TPE now offer fee-free changes of time and date for tickets bought via their website or app (see this page).