Cheap splits West Yorkshire to Scotland

[Panceltic]

Hello all,

I am looking for cheap advance tickets and/or splits to do the following two journeys. No railcards held.

Journey 1: Bradford to Glasgow single, 21 October, afternoon/evening

Journey 2: Edinburgh to Leeds single, 29 October, morning

I know it's still early, but this is so I can prepare.

Thank you!

 

[mikeg]

For the Bradford to Glasgow the cheapest walk-up fare will be the SDS (Anytime Day Single) via Appleby. It's a more limited service than going via the East Coast Main Line and would involve two changes of trains, and splitting won't help on this route. Advances on this route are available priced by Virgin Trains from 17 pounds on the 8th, fares are likely to be similar when they are released for the 21st. These Virgin Trains and connections advances are also available via Preston which will involve only one change of train. To be honest, I don't think you're going to beat that by splitting and going East Coast seems to be much more expensive.

For Edinburgh to Leeds given that through advances are available for 15.15 for a few weeks before and are likely to be similarly priced when the advances for the 29th are released I doubt you're going to beat the through tickets routed EC & Connections. There are also advances via Carlisle priced by Virgin Trains from 17 pounds, so it may be worth checking these too. Please note that to get the cheapest price on the EC and Connections tickets you need to book through the East Coast website.

So the cheapest way if you can commit to a specific train are a through advance on the way to Glasgow on Virgin, and coming back a through advance on East Coast.

Please note that advances are not yet available for these dates, you need to look at the National Rail booking horizons website. Keep checking that and it will say when advances are released for each TOC.

 

[Panceltic]

Thank you very much for this detailed explanation, it is very helpful indeed.

I'm perfectly fine with committing to specific trains so I'll keep an eye on the advances.

Thanks again

 

[Solent&Wessex]

Using Advance fares I have found that splitting at Carlisle is often good value. I.e. using a Northern Advance from West Yorkshire to Carlisle, then a Virgin or TPE Advance from Carlisle to Scotland is often cheaper than buying the through &connections Advance fare.

Likewise, using the East Coast splitting at York often works out better with Advance fares.