HELP! Kings Lynn-London International (CIV) via brfares.com

[lenahan]

Hi hoping somebody can help,

Ive used brfares.com to find London International CIV tickets from Kings Lynn and am coming up with fares of 5,10 and 20p for some tickets.

The results i get are either for those almost free prices or for prices that are way in advance of even a std london rtn ticket bought on the day during peak hours which is all seeming very strange.

Im hoping somebody can shed some light as ive rang eurostar quoting the ticket codes given in the search results (as im travelling straight to paris) and also tried firstcapitalconnect (the operator) and national rail enquiries without any help from the customer service reps im getting on the phone.


Here are the following codes im trying to find out about regards infomation and how to purchase etc:


Kings Lynn - London International (CIV)

- ES1 ESTAR ITX 1ST = 20p
- EIF ADVANCE ITX 1ST = 10p

- ES2 ESTAR ITX STD = 10p
- EIS ADVANCE ITX STD = 5p

Stick it in www.brfares.com yourself and youll see what i mean ? HELP PLEASE. All the other options and fares given in the results are higher than normal prices. :roll: So what is going on ?

PLEASE HELP. THANK YOU.

 

[Clip]

Probably an error Id say. This happens form time to time. Id take the price quoted by E* themselves as the price you are to pay.

 

[AlterEgo]

Definitely an error in that they're showing.

Correct fares are:

Euro Std Single (via Cambridge) £31.20
Euro High Svr Return (via Cambridge) £42.40
Euro Std Return (via Cambridge) £62.40

Assuming you want to travel standard class.

 

[lenahan]

Definitely an error in that they're showing.

Correct fares are:

Euro Std Single (via Cambridge) £31.20
Euro High Svr Return (via Cambridge) £42.40
Euro Std Return (via Cambridge) £62.40

Assuming you want to travel standard class.

But that doesnt make sense as normal london rtns are easy to get cheaper than that from Kings Lynn.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I just found this on another thread re London CIV fares:

The EOS has no time restrictions, though East Coast also offer Advance tickets to London International.



The 5p and 10p tickets are "Inclusive Tour" ones sold by Travel Agents as part of a package.

"Normal" fares for Cambridge - London International are as follows:

• Euro Standard Single : £21.20 (£5.30 PRIV)
• Euro High Saver Return : £30.50 (Valid on trains arriving into London after 09:15, return any time)
• Euro 1st Single : £34.00 (£8.50 PRIV)
• Euro Standard Return : £42.40 (£10.60 PRIV)
• Euro 1st Return : £68.00 (£17.00 PRIV)

HTH,

Barry

Is it the case then if I went to a travel agent I could get them to book my eurostar ticket and Uk rail ticket where they should be able to offer me the best and equivilant Eurostar price and then tag on these CIV tickets at the 5,10 & 20p price from Kings Lynn to London CIV ?

 

[Smethwickian]

5p and 10p fares crop up for other journeys such as the 5p PCS COMP STANDARD fare between Birmingham Stations and London terminals, priced by Virgin. I think such codes are used to issue complimentary tickets, promotional giveaways etc, by customer services or marketing departments.

If I remember correctly, somewhere else on this forum it was explained that they have to have a nominal value for accounting purposes.

 

[lemonic]

If you phone Eurostar on 01233 617913 you should be able to book tickets to/from London Eurostar CIV.

These are £10 for a Euro High Svr Single
(Valid on services arriving
into London St Pancras
International or London Kings
Cross after 0915.

Not valid for departures from
London St Pancras
International or London Kings
Cross between 1630 and 1830.)

or £14 for a Euro Std Single (valid anytime).

 

[Oscar]

Basically there are two sets of fares:
- King's Lynn to London International CIV (available from Raileasy or station ticket offices)
These are the fares quoted by Alter Ego. Look down to the "Via Cambridge" route on www.brfares.com and you'll find them. London International fares are valid with any international ticket (e.g. SailRail).
- King's Lynn to London Estar CIV (available by telephone from Eurostar domestic sales - you may have to persevere to get through to them)
These are the fares quoted by Aleksander. They are cheaper and the only difference in your case is who you buy them from. These are special fares provided to Eurostar by the TOCs for sale to their customers. Type "Lndon Estar CIV" into www.brfares.com and you'll find them.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Kings Lynn - London International (CIV)

- ES1 ESTAR ITX 1ST = 20p
- EIF ADVANCE ITX 1ST = 10p

- ES2 ESTAR ITX STD = 10p
- EIS ADVANCE ITX STD = 5p

Those fares are't actually intended for sale to pasengers as-is. They are intended for travel agents to issue as part of an inclusive tour package, and are probably just there with a nominal value so that the the issue of the ticket gets properly recorded in the LENNON computer system used by the train companies. I presume the real revenue from these ticket sales gets accounted for in some other way by a lump sum payment from the tour agencies or something, but I really have no idea.

You just have to remember that BR Fares is more of a fares database explorer than a journey planner, and gives you everything in the database "warts and all"; as the disclaimer on the front pages says "Not all the fares shown on this site are available to the general public. The ticketing system is not simple, and some amount of prior knowledge is needed in order to use the site effectively"!

But that doesnt make sense as normal london rtns are easy to get cheaper than that from Kings Lynn.

That would be a separate issue, of First Capital Connect (who set the prices for these fares) making them equal to the equivalent "normal" fares from Kings's Lynn to London. But it doesn't make them totally pointless, as you still get the benefit of being covered by the CIV (i.e. international conditions of carriage) rather than the NRCoC for the entire journey.

But as aleksander has said, you might be able to get a better deal by buying your domestic tickets from Eurostar directly.

 

[lenahan]

Thanks for the latest post indigo. Your info on the use of those codes by travel agents certainly fills in a few of the blanks. Ive contacted Eurostar and they have there own codes which are still cheap at £20 rtn but obviously if i can find a way to get a 20p rtn against £20 for the KL-London rtn leg then im all game for trying.

Do you think (does anyone?) it might be the case if i find a travel/rail agent that can sell uk and eurostar rail tickets that they may be able to pacakage a deal using these codes so i get this leg of the rail journey for this 20p price ?

Im sure if i was able to do that it would work out my cheapest option even if i get some other fees added on by a travel/rail agent for there service.

?

 

[Oscar]

I think that you may have misunderstood the point. The 5p / 10p / 20p is the nominal value of these tickets. They actually cost the travel agencies substantially more but the travel agencies pay a lump sum for all of the tickets they buy which is not reflected in the nominal price of the ticket. These tickets are not available for the nominal prices. I really don't think that you'll find anything better than the 2 £10 High Saver singles from Eurostar.

 

[OwlMan]

Thanks for the latest post indigo. Your info on the use of those codes by travel agents certainly fills in a few of the blanks. Ive contacted Eurostar and they have there own codes which are still cheap at £20 rtn but obviously if i can find a way to get a 20p rtn against £20 for the KL-London rtn leg then im all game for trying.

Do you think (does anyone?) it might be the case if i find a travel/rail agent that can sell uk and eurostar rail tickets that they may be able to pacakage a deal using these codes so i get this leg of the rail journey for this 20p price ?

Im sure if i was able to do that it would work out my cheapest option even if i get some other fees added on by a travel/rail agent for there service.

?

To get the package deal you need to buy the whole holiday for example see http://www.aagetaways.co.uk/special-offers-eurostar
3 nights in Paris including Eurostar from £150 etc

Peter