Advance fares NOT-BCU

[P156KWJ]

Hi,
wanting to go down to Brockenhurst to do the CIGs from Nottingham sometime, preferably in March. It became apparent to me that you can't get advance fares between the two stations, despite there being a rather convenient direct voyager at 0637. So then I started looking for alternatives, ie AP tickets Nottingham - London, of which there were many, and then from London to Brockenhurst. The latter, there only seems to be walk-up fares at £17.25 OPR for a child, are there no advance fares at all?

Could someone tell me the best places to split my journey? Seems rater stupid that it seems I will be faffing about changing instead of getting the direct train

 

[TEW]

To put it simply you are very unlikely to get any AP on the direct Cross Country train.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Avantix Traveller shows AP singles available, ranging from the cheapest SC single- £4, to the most expensive £18 First Class AP single. (child fare)

The route is shown as "AP WOKING", with 4 tiers of both First Class and Standard Class advance fares.

Is the FOR really £131.80?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

To put it simply you are very unlikely to get any AP on the direct Cross Country train.

Yep, you're 100% correct on that.

XC have virtually demolished all AP singles between aproximately 05:00-10:00, and also between 14:00-19:00 on Voyagers.

 

[devon_metro]

As Conner says, XC are a tight company whos AP availability is awful. The fact that that 0637 train is probably a peak train through Birmingham also means no AP which unless its long distance won't be available will about 10am.

 

[Pumbaa]

Yep, you're 100% correct on that.

XC have virtually demolished all AP singles between aproximately 05:00-10:00, and also between 14:00-19:00 on Voyagers.

What? Why? Money-grabbing? I managed to get 6 x AP on Edinburgh to Berwick last week at 1805, so just choosy quotas? Limit them on their most popular flows but keep loads around to justify the numbers when they claim "x thousands available"?

 

[P156KWJ]

Avantix Traveller shows AP singles available, ranging from the cheapest SC single- £4, to the most expensive £18 First Class AP single. (child fare)

The route is shown as "AP WOKING", with 4 tiers of both First Class and Standard Class advance fares.

Is the FOR really £131.80?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Yep, you're 100% correct on that.

XC have virtually demolished all AP singles between aproximately 05:00-10:00, and also between 14:00-19:00 on Voyagers.

The Advantix fares - where do I get these and I assume the AP WOKING meand only vailid via Woking?

 

[voyagerdude220]

What? Why? Money-grabbing? I managed to get 6 x AP on Edinburgh to Berwick last week at 1805, so just choosy quotas? Limit them on their most popular flows but keep loads around to justify the numbers when they claim "x thousands available"?

Yeah, Virgin used to offer at least *some* AP singles on afternoon, and even evening XC services, and it wasn't rare for me to pay just £20-£30 FC for the 15:28 Bristol Temple M to Preston a few years ago, when i used to travel that way quite alot.

The reason why you frequently get Edinburgh to Berwick, is because the availability of AP singles is calculated in "blocks". This means that AP singles may be available from say Manchester to Stoke-On-Trent, Leamington Spa to Reading, Southampton to Bournemouth, but not throughout the journey.

Because Edinburgh-Berwick isn't an extremely busy section on your service, you can get AP singles.

The Advantix fares - where do I get these and I assume the AP WOKING meand only vailid via Woking?

I'm afraid it's all subject to availability, via the usual retail outlets- i.e. Internet, stations etc

Just keep checking every so often

 

[ashworth]

Here is an idea if you don't mind a long route for a cheaper price:

Advance Purchase tickets from Nottingham to London - whatever you can get!

Southern Railways Daysave Ticket - only £10 for a day but must be booked online on the Southern Railways Website.
You can then travel on any Southern trains for a day including the hourly Victoria-Southampton (via Gatwick) service.
Then all you need is a Day Return from Southampton to Brockenhurst at only £5.60.
These Daysave tickets are fantastic for travelling betwen London and the southcoast.
I once did Victoria-Hastings, Hastings-Ashford, Ashford-Brighton, Brighton-Portsmouth, Portsmouth-Victoria all in one day for £10.

Another alternative is to try to get AP tickets at approx £18 single from Nottingham to Bristol - they are available mainly on Saturdays
Then an offpeak return from Bristol to Brockenhurst via Westbury and Southhampton is £27.50.

 

[Ferret]

What? Why? Money-grabbing? I managed to get 6 x AP on Edinburgh to Berwick last week at 1805, so just choosy quotas? Limit them on their most popular flows but keep loads around to justify the numbers when they claim "x thousands available"?

Hmm, I think you're being about naive about pricing strategy and flow management there. Like it or not, XC have capacity issues so why the hell would you make overcrowding worse by loading cheapo advance fares onto already busy trains? And think about it - advance tickets all come with seat reservations, and so these cheapo ticket holders will get seats at the expense of regular season ticket holders who pay a hell of a lot more. Fair? I don't think so!

 

[Oracle]

Best wishes to everyone who wants to come down and 'do' the Lymington branch. Sometimes I take the lads from Ashurst New Forest (10 mins. walk or take the car in 2 mins.), then catch the hourly to Brockie, then the branch train, and back home just for the fun.

Last week I had to take my daughter's car to Brockenhurst for an MoT...£2.60 Anytime Return with my Disabled Rail Card, which was excellent. The return train even stopped at Beaulieu Road, where not even ghosts got on and off!

 

[P156KWJ]

Here is an idea if you don't mind a long route for a cheaper price:

Advance Purchase tickets from Nottingham to London - whatever you can get!

Southern Railways Daysave Ticket - only £10 for a day but must be booked online on the Southern Railways Website.
You can then travel on any Southern trains for a day including the hourly Victoria-Southampton (via Gatwick) service.
Then all you need is a Day Return from Southampton to Brockenhurst at only £5.60.
These Daysave tickets are fantastic for travelling betwen London and the southcoast.
I once did Victoria-Hastings, Hastings-Ashford, Ashford-Brighton, Brighton-Portsmouth, Portsmouth-Victoria all in one day for £10.

Another alternative is to try to get AP tickets at approx £18 single from Nottingham to Bristol - they are available mainly on Saturdays
Then an offpeak return from Bristol to Brockenhurst via Westbury and Southhampton is £27.50.

thank you very much for that, that's a real help

 

[Tyke Toper]

Avantix Ticket price software can be obtained thro' the link here http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21158&highlight=nfm02

 

[P156KWJ]

Here is an idea if you don't mind a long route for a cheaper price:

Advance Purchase tickets from Nottingham to London - whatever you can get!

Southern Railways Daysave Ticket - only £10 for a day but must be booked online on the Southern Railways Website.
You can then travel on any Southern trains for a day including the hourly Victoria-Southampton (via Gatwick) service.
Then all you need is a Day Return from Southampton to Brockenhurst at only £5.60.
These Daysave tickets are fantastic for travelling betwen London and the southcoast.
I once did Victoria-Hastings, Hastings-Ashford, Ashford-Brighton, Brighton-Portsmouth, Portsmouth-Victoria all in one day for £10.

Another alternative is to try to get AP tickets at approx £18 single from Nottingham to Bristol - they are available mainly on Saturdays
Then an offpeak return from Bristol to Brockenhurst via Westbury and Southhampton is £27.50.

that Daysave thing - it's coming up on NRE but doesn't list either Victoria or Southampton (can't remember which). Are you sure that it's valid? Also, what train is it usually on Victoria-Southampton?

And, are there any cheap rangers that cover the Brockenhurst-Lymington Branch, can't seem to find any!

 

[ashworth]

The Southern Daysave Ticket is valid on all Southern Railways trains and so is therefore valid on their service from London Victoria to Southampton Central.
I have used them regularly from London Victoria to the South Coast and also between Brighton and Southhampton Central.
They are only available from Southern Railways online via their website and must be purchased I think at least 7 days in advance. They cannot be purchased from any other website or from stations. They are also available on the day from Tourist Information Centres in Brighton and Eastbourne.

Full details and booking is normally avialble on the Southern Railways Website but I see that this is all suspended today due to emergency anouncements concerning the bad weather!
www.southernrailway.com/
www.southernrailway.com/daysave

Southern Electrostars are on the route from Victoria to Southampton. I don't know much about Southern Stock but I think they are 477's or something similar. I find them very smooth and comfortable. It's a long roundabout route but an interesting route from Victoria to Southampton

 

[P156KWJ]

that'd be the 377s

might just be only a quid more for me to buy a ticket from Waterloo to Brockenhurst and return now

 

[Oracle]

The Southerns are highly recommended..it is a nice trip if you like the scenary of the south coast, but may be deemed a bit of a long-winded trip to some. And the trains are excellent as well. You might also be lucky and get a 450 to Brockenhurst from Southampton as against a 444.

 

[thefab444]

They are far from reliable though, any wind of disruption and Southern will cancel ALL services to Southampton Central (both the Brighton and Victoria services).

377s aren't all they are cracked up to be, for a long journey like Gatwick - Southampton, the seats (even the 2+2 ones) get rather uncomfortable and hard. Give me a 444 anyday!