defitzi
Member
I often traverse the Uk and decide on a whim to stay awhiles . If I do does anyone know what are the chances that if i got to a station and ask what the cheapest fare from point A to point B (sort of a wee excursion) or even a round trip (yes-I DO do know there are railcards. rovers and the like) but I'm talking about just journeying:like maybe decide to go someplace, maybe stay in a hotel overnight or for a couple of days and return-not necessarily by the same route.
It is likely I would get good answers without having to go to a major station with a big enquiry office -which negates the whole exercise.
In other words-how well are smaller ticket offices genned up or able to gen up of the latest and best (within say, 24 hrs) fares-available offers?
In France, they will try to give you what the computer says -frequently there I have to tell ticket clerks there IS a cheaper/ different route available and demand they input my routing into the computer.
Last time I saved 26 Euros (and three hours!) by going from Montchanin to Paris via Dijon -all on TER- and the old Main Line to Paris when the computer tried to send me around the opposite way, via Nevers and the TEAC fast line.Another beauty ws Dijon-Parios TGV quite long wait and station change in Paris then TGV to Reims- when there is a twice daily direct non- TGV priced Corail connection, 1/8th the distance, circa three hours longer and a mere fraction of the combined 2 tgv routes priceing.
Rheims (which ironically IS on the old, now TEAC route to Strasbourg) has only a branch-connection to the TGV.
That's my experience of provincial station booking in France- is it anything like this in UK -better or worse?
In my young days any decent sized station in Ireland could have given you the far to any UK station, the route and the cost-on the spot and I recall it was pretty much the same in the UK.
So:what's it like nowadays? Or do I need to spend hurs on the net preplanning everything.
And with the help of all youse extremely knowledgable forum inputters-honest, no irony here.I
I really AM mind-blasted since I found this forum and discovered just how much people do seem to know about rail travel (and other matters) in the UK! And how helpful folk really are!
For which-much thanks, Horatio (quote Hamletomewhere in Act 1).
It is likely I would get good answers without having to go to a major station with a big enquiry office -which negates the whole exercise.
In other words-how well are smaller ticket offices genned up or able to gen up of the latest and best (within say, 24 hrs) fares-available offers?
In France, they will try to give you what the computer says -frequently there I have to tell ticket clerks there IS a cheaper/ different route available and demand they input my routing into the computer.
Last time I saved 26 Euros (and three hours!) by going from Montchanin to Paris via Dijon -all on TER- and the old Main Line to Paris when the computer tried to send me around the opposite way, via Nevers and the TEAC fast line.Another beauty ws Dijon-Parios TGV quite long wait and station change in Paris then TGV to Reims- when there is a twice daily direct non- TGV priced Corail connection, 1/8th the distance, circa three hours longer and a mere fraction of the combined 2 tgv routes priceing.
Rheims (which ironically IS on the old, now TEAC route to Strasbourg) has only a branch-connection to the TGV.
That's my experience of provincial station booking in France- is it anything like this in UK -better or worse?
In my young days any decent sized station in Ireland could have given you the far to any UK station, the route and the cost-on the spot and I recall it was pretty much the same in the UK.
So:what's it like nowadays? Or do I need to spend hurs on the net preplanning everything.
And with the help of all youse extremely knowledgable forum inputters-honest, no irony here.I
I really AM mind-blasted since I found this forum and discovered just how much people do seem to know about rail travel (and other matters) in the UK! And how helpful folk really are!
For which-much thanks, Horatio (quote Hamletomewhere in Act 1).
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