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Which Rail Booking Site is Best?

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Envoy

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I have been trying to figure out which is the best rail booking site.

The first thing I did was a test for a trip from Cardiff to Edinburgh leaving on a Tuesday on the 10.05am from Cardiff. To pass this test, the site would need to show a change of train from TfW to Avanti at Crewe (with split) as this should result in the fastest journey at the lowest price. All of the TOC sites failed this test & only showed a price of £192.60. www.mytrainpal.com also failed this test.

Needless to say https://www.nationalrail.co.uk also failed the test but it is a very clear site.

www.traintickets.com passed the test and came up with one split at Crewe which resulted in a price of £67.50 + a fee of £12.51 as commission of 10% of the saving giving a total of £80.01. Site has excellent clarity & it is easy to edit your search..

www.trainsplit.com also passed the test but this one came up with additional splits at Leominster & Penrith as well as the one at Crewe. This came to £63.50 + £12.70 as commission at 10% of the saving giving a total of £76.20. (Splityourticket; trainscanbecheaper; trainsplitting; raileasy; splitmyfare; splitticketing all seem to go through to the trainsplit.com website).
The annoying thing with these sites is that you have one of the picture things where you have to verify that you are not a robot. Not easy to back track/edit your search.

www.raileurope.co.uk also passed the test and came up with the £67.50 price but this only charged £1.50 commission giving a total of £69. Of course, buying via the TOC’s direct would result in no commission but they fail to show any split prices - even when 2 of the TOC’s on this route - TfW & Avanti incredibly only show the full whack price of £192.60. It looks like co-operation does exist between TfW & Trans Pennine Express as the next departure does come with a low price if going via Manchester (change) - which takes a bit longer. (Raileurope fails to load the new Worcestershire Parkway station).

So, it can all be a bit of a minefield for the unwary.
 
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30907

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Buying via TOCs direct would result in no commission but they fail to show any split prices - even when 2 of the TOC’s on this route - TfW & Avanti incredibly only show the full whack price of £192.60. It looks like co-operation does exist between TfW & Trans Pennine Express as the next departure does come with a low price if going via Manchester (change) - which takes a bit longer.

As has been said previously, on the thread on this subforum you started a few days ago, TOC websites only show through fares. All of them basically show the same ones. NR only shows multiple tickets where no through fare exists.
So the question worth raising as a separate topic is "which split ticketing site is best" - ISTR we have had occasional threads on this before.
 

Saperstein

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Your right that the Captica thing on train split is annoying, may look elsewhere because of it.

I use the TrainSpilt App for any journeys that are splittable, no Captica on there.

My only bugbear is it doesn't remember my Railcard.
 

yorkie

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A major factor for me is the seat selector (for all reserveable trains) and the ability to specify multiple via/avoid points, calling at/changing at points etc.
So, it can all be a bit of a minefield for the unwary.
Not sure how having choice is a minefield? :o

People who want to save money can do so.

We have choice for most items we buy, however some train companies would remove that choice if they could. They are very unhappy that third party sites undercut their premium long distance fares!

The reality is that every time someone suggests that choice is a bad thing, certain individuals who are keen to jump on the anti-choice bandwagon and state that a monopoly is what is needed, will use that as 'evidence' to back up their claims. Believe me when I say the risk of them succeeding is very, very real. If they succeed, you won't be getting this journey for under £80 any more. OK you'll be paying less than £192 but something like £150 is probably what you would expect to pay. Be careful what you wish for...

Having choice gives us innovation and lowers prices!

BTW Traintickets.com and Raileurope both use the same provider, so the splits for any given itinerary, given the same availability, will be the same.
 

Puffing Devil

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One improvement for the trainsplit family would be to choose the speed of the journey by leg. Sometimes I need to be out early and quickly in the morning, but I'm happy to take a more leisurely route home later in the day.
 

Royston Vasey

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One improvement for the trainsplit family would be to choose the speed of the journey by leg. Sometimes I need to be out early and quickly in the morning, but I'm happy to take a more leisurely route home later in the day.
I thought you could specifically do this. Regardless, varying the route on outbound and return portions (and reserving seats on them) is the reason I use it even if not splitting. I've usually done this through specifying different and multiple via and change points which has the effect of exactly what you are looking for*. You seem like you know what you want to do so that would be a workaround. It does show a wide range of routes including slower ones in the results matrix as well, along with the faster ones. It's much more flexible than the main Raileasy site.

*e.g. Cambridge villages to Manchester wanting to change onto EMR at Ely, its extremely hard to get the EMR service to show over the via London (Avanti) or via Stevenage and Doncaster (LNER/TPE) or via Ely and Leicester/Birmingham (XC), or variations on those routes, unless using Trainsplit.
 
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SickyNicky

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Your right that the Captica thing on train split is annoying, may look elsewhere because of it.

When we didn't have it, we had competitors scraping our site for the prices and routes we're finding that they aren't. Clearly we can't allow that.
If you log in (top right), the Captcha is automatically disabled.
 

Puffing Devil

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One improvement for the trainsplit family would be to choose the speed of the journey by leg. Sometimes I need to be out early and quickly in the morning, but I'm happy to take a more leisurely route home later in the day.

I thought you could specifically do this. Regardless, varying the route on outbound and return portions (and reserving seats on them) is the reason I use it even if not splitting. I've usually done this through specifying different and multiple via and change points which has the effect of exactly what you are looking for*. You seem like you know what you want to do so that would be a workaround. It does show a wide range of routes including slower ones in the results matrix as well, along with the faster ones. It's much more flexible than the main Raileasy site.

*e.g. Cambridge villages to Manchester wanting to change onto EMR at Ely, its extremely hard to get the EMR service to show over the via London (Avanti) or via Stevenage and Doncaster (LNER/TPE) or via Ely and Leicester/Birmingham (XC), or variations on those routes, unless using Trainsplit.

For advanced settings yes absolutely.

For those wanting to just be shown itineraries without going to advanced options, the app works better than the website.

Whilst you can select specifics on each leg



You don't get this handy little options grid per leg; it only presents when the results are shown.



For example, I may want to take Avanti from Crewe to Euston in the morning, but wander back on London Whatever Their Brand is now Railways on the return. Unless you know specifically the services it requires some digging. I would like to see "Fast" out "Value Back" and even a choice of "Fixed Time Out" "Flexible Back", which I believe a lot of people prefer when travelling on business.
 

yorkie

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For example, I may want to take Avanti from Crewe to Euston in the morning, but wander back on London Whatever Their Brand is now Railways on the return. Unless you know specifically the services it requires some digging. I would like to see "Fast" out "Value Back" and even a choice of "Fixed Time Out" "Flexible Back", which I believe a lot of people prefer when travelling on business.
Yes that's right, so if you are able use the advanced options it is possible to achieve this result. But to achieve a fast itinerary one way and a slow one the other way, without the advanced options, I would suggest using the app. Although the app has fewer options (none of the advanced options are available) it does show a wider range of departures and shows the outward and return legs at a separate stage.
 
Joined
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Bempton,East Riding
I have been trying to figure out which is the best rail booking site.

The first thing I did was a test for a trip from Cardiff to Edinburgh leaving on a Tuesday on the 10.05am from Cardiff. To pass this test, the site would need to show a change of train from TfW to Avanti at Crewe (with split) as this should result in the fastest journey at the lowest price. All of the TOC sites failed this test & only showed a price of £192.60. www.mytrainpal.com also failed this test.

Needless to say https://www.nationalrail.co.uk also failed the test but it is a very clear site.

www.traintickets.com passed the test and came up with one split at Crewe which resulted in a price of £67.50 + a fee of £12.51 as commission of 10% of the saving giving a total of £80.01. Site has excellent clarity & it is easy to edit your search..

www.trainsplit.com also passed the test but this one came up with additional splits at Leominster & Penrith as well as the one at Crewe. This came to £63.50 + £12.70 as commission at 10% of the saving giving a total of £76.20. (Splityourticket; trainsplitting; raileasy; splitmyfare; splitticketing all seem to go through to the trainsplit.com website).
The annoying thing with these sites is that you have one of the picture things where you have to verify that you are not a robot. Not easy to back track/edit your search.

www.raileurope.co.uk also passed the test and came up with the £67.50 price but this only charged £1.50 commission giving a total of £69. Of course, buying via the TOC’s direct would result in no commission but they fail to show any split prices - even when 2 of the TOC’s on this route - TfW & Avanti incredibly only show the full whack price of £192.60. It looks like co-operation does exist between TfW & Trans Pennine Express as the next departure does come with a low price if going via Manchester (change) - which takes a bit longer. (Raileurope fails to load the new Worcestershire Parkway station).

So, it can all be a bit of a minefield for the unwary.
Northern is best if you want tickets posting as they do not charge postage
 

liam456

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IMHO:
  • If the journey involves advances, book with XC (no £10 fee for changing advance)
  • If it involves walk-ups, book with a GTR TOC brand (trouble-free refund if not collected from ticket machine)
  • Or if you want tickets posted, Northern.
  • If it involves split tickets, trainsplit of course.
Does anyone know a way to improve on my "formula"?
 
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freddie1729

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Does anyone know a way to improve on my "formula"?

@liam456 looks spot on! A few more things people might want:
  • If you want Nectar points, use LNER or a FirstGroup TOC, sometimes there are 500 point offers.
  • If you want cashback, check Special Offers Discussion here, and book with one of those sites.
  • If you want to pick a specific seat, use Trainsplit or Trainscanbecheaper. Especially if your journey is over multiple TOCs.
  • If it's an eticket on the day of travel and you have an iOS device, use Trainline if you want Apple Wallet/Watch support. (No booking fee on the day of travel)
If the journey involves advances, book with XC (no £10 fee for changing advance)

Worth noting that Transpennine Express also offer free amendments. They also give you Nectar points.
 
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Envoy

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Many thanks everybody for your input thus far. Where a site suggests splits - but you are staying on the same train with reserved seats, do you have to keep moving seat(s) at the split(s)? If unreserved space exists, is it better to nab that & abandon your reserved seat(s)?

Of the TOC’s, the fact that Cross Country don’t charge a £10 fee for changing Advance bookings must be a clear inducement for some to use them over the other TOC sites - even when not travelling with XC.
 

yorkie

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Many thanks everybody for your input thus far. Where a site suggests splits - but you are staying on the same train with reserved seats, do you have to keep moving seat(s) at the split(s)? If unreserved space exists, is it better to nab that & abandon your reserved seat(s)?
Trainsplit has a seat selector.

It may not keep the same seat on some occasions e.g. long XC journeys due to the limitation of how many times a eat can be reserved. Where this happens, the seat you were in can still be occupied as it won't be reserved by anyone else and you can reserve a seat nearby using the seat selector.
Of the TOC’s, the fact that Cross Country don’t charge a £10 fee for changing Advance bookings must be a clear inducement for some to use them over the other TOC sites - even when not travelling with XC.
I once had to use this for a long XC journey and believe me I would have gladly paid the £10 fee to save the huge amount of time spent as I had to select each seat manually. Also I had to stick to trains that called at Tamworth and wasn't able to change the split point to Burton. At that time I had booked with XC because it was before Trainsplit had the seat selector. Sometimes saving a fee isn't worth it if you are going to waste a lot of time doing so.
 

Envoy

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Thank you ‘yorkie’ for your swift response.
 
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