Lack of advance tickets, Thurso - Perth

[swaldman]

I'm trying to book a return journey from Thurso to Glasgow in August - a bit under three months ahead. South on 7th Aug, north on the 13th. It's coming up a lot more expensive than I expected, with Off-peak Returns rather than Advances..

Thurso > Glasgow Queen Street - Search Results

The Split Ticketing Champions - Compare fares and get the best value for money through split tickets and booking cheap train tickets online and on our mobile app, E-Tickets to your phone, no booking fee, save up to 90%

tickets.railforums.co.uk

From playing around with singles on Scotrail's site, it looks as though Thurso <> Inverness is one of the main culprits. When I've used this line before it hasn't been busy and there have always been cheap Advance fares - but I'm only seeing Anytime ones. From sampling dates, I can't see any Advance fares offered beyond the end of June (although I haven't checked every date).

Is it already heavily booked for August? Or have Advances not been released yet? (is there any way to tell?) Or is there something else going on that I haven't thought of? Tourism to the far north and Orkney has taken off heavily in recent years, but not to the extent that I'd expected all advances to sell out immediatley.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[hexagon789]

I'm trying to book a return journey from Thurso to Glasgow in August - a bit under three months ahead. South on 7th Aug, north on the 13th. It's coming up a lot more expensive than I expected, with Off-peak Returns rather than Advances..

Thurso > Glasgow Queen Street - Search Results

The Split Ticketing Champions - Compare fares and get the best value for money through split tickets and booking cheap train tickets online and on our mobile app, E-Tickets to your phone, no booking fee, save up to 90%

tickets.railforums.co.uk

From playing around with singles on Scotrail's site, it looks as though Thurso <> Inverness is one of the main culprits. When I've used this line before it hasn't been busy and there have always been cheap Advance fares - but I'm only seeing Anytime ones. From sampling dates, I can't see any Advance fares offered beyond the end of June (although I haven't checked every date).

Is it already heavily booked for August? Or have Advances not been released yet? (is there any way to tell?) Or is there something else going on that I haven't thought of? Tourism to the far north and Orkney has taken off heavily in recent years, but not to the extent that I'd expected all advances to sell out immediatley.

Thanks for any advice.

I suspect Advances are just not on sale yet, ScotRail never seems to manage the traditional 12 week horizon.

Their own website says they are sold 8 weeks in advance, not 12.

 

[Watershed]

I'm trying to book a return journey from Thurso to Glasgow in August - a bit under three months ahead. South on 7th Aug, north on the 13th. It's coming up a lot more expensive than I expected, with Off-peak Returns rather than Advances..

Thurso > Glasgow Queen Street - Search Results

The Split Ticketing Champions - Compare fares and get the best value for money through split tickets and booking cheap train tickets online and on our mobile app, E-Tickets to your phone, no booking fee, save up to 90%

tickets.railforums.co.uk

From playing around with singles on Scotrail's site, it looks as though Thurso <> Inverness is one of the main culprits. When I've used this line before it hasn't been busy and there have always been cheap Advance fares - but I'm only seeing Anytime ones. From sampling dates, I can't see any Advance fares offered beyond the end of June (although I haven't checked every date).

Is it already heavily booked for August? Or have Advances not been released yet? (is there any way to tell?) Or is there something else going on that I haven't thought of? Tourism to the far north and Orkney has taken off heavily in recent years, but not to the extent that I'd expected all advances to sell out immediatley.

Thanks for any advice.

It'd be more likely for Advances not to be released at all, if ScotRail thought a particular service (or particular days/weeks) would be busy and thus not require 'discounting', than to have sold out this far ahead.

 

[swaldman]

I suspect Advances are just not on sale yet, ScotRail never seems to manage the traditional 12 week horizon.

Their own website says they are sold 8 weeks in advance, not 12.

Oh, really? That's good to know, thanks. Maybe I should wait a few weeks more before assuming the worst, as Watershed suggested, that there are no Advances.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Oh, really? That's good to know, thanks. Maybe I should wait a few weeks more before assuming the worst, as Watershed suggested, that there are no Advances.

They haven't been released yet. And there's no advantage in buying an Anytime now.
If I were you though I'd buy the anytime anyway...and I say that as someone who is also looking for advances on that route on one of those dates, so I don't want you buying them up But I checked and they've not released them yet.

 

[swaldman]

They haven't been released yet. And there's no advantage in buying an Anytime now.
If I were you though I'd buy the anytime anyway...and I say that as someone who is also looking for advances on that route on one of those dates, so I don't want you buying them up But I checked and they've not released them yet.

Heh
Thanks. How can one check?

 

[hexagon789]

Heh
Thanks. How can one check?

ScotRail do put up the current advance booking horizon date on the website and they are usually good at tweeting when a new batch of dates is made available.

This is the current statement:

ScotRail services are now open for reservations up to and including Friday, 9 August 2024, with the exception of the below services:

Engineering Works
Sunday, 28 July 2024

• Glasgow Queen Street – Aberdeen and return
• Glasgow Queen Street – Inverness/Elgin and return
• Glasgow Queen Street – Dundee and return
• Glasgow Queen Street – Oban and return
• Glasgow Queen Street – Fort William & Mallaig and return

Saturday, 3 and Sunday, 4 August 2024

• Glasgow Queen Street – Aberdeen and return
• Glasgow Queen Street – Inverness/Elgin and return
• Glasgow Queen Street – Dundee and return
• Edinburgh – Aberdeen and return
• Edinburgh – Inverness and return
• Edinburgh – Perth & Dundee and return
• Aberdeen – Inverness and return

 

[swaldman]

ScotRail do put up the current advance booking horizon date on the website and they are usually good at tweeting when a new batch of dates is made available.

This is the current statement:

Thanks, that's useful. Their website seems a bit confused, saying 12 weeks in some places and 8 weeks in others. I guess it probably changed at some point. I can't find their current horizon anywhere, nor the info you linked, but I am willing to accept that that is me failing to find it

 

[Starmill]

Thanks, that's useful. Their website seems a bit confused, saying 12 weeks in some places and 8 weeks in others. I guess it probably changed at some point. I can't find their current horizon anywhere, nor the info you linked, but I am willing to accept that that is me failing to find it

It currently varies day by day depending on when precisely they manage to get the reservations open. That's the case on an awful lot of routes currently.

 

[HandyHat]

Thanks, that's useful. Their website seems a bit confused, saying 12 weeks in some places and 8 weeks in others. I guess it probably changed at some point. I can't find their current horizon anywhere, nor the info you linked, but I am willing to accept that that is me failing to find it

Advance Booking Dates | National Rail

Find out the farthest travel dates in the future it is possible to book Advance tickets and reserve seats today.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

 

[hexagon789]

Thanks, that's useful. Their website seems a bit confused, saying 12 weeks in some places and 8 weeks in others. I guess it probably changed at some point. I can't find their current horizon anywhere, nor the info you linked, but I am willing to accept that that is me failing to find it

The info I posted is at the very bottom of their website page on Advance tickets.

 

[swaldman]

Advance Booking Dates | National Rail

Find out the farthest travel dates in the future it is possible to book Advance tickets and reserve seats today.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

The info I posted is at the very bottom of their website page on Advance tickets.

Thank you both!

 

[Deafdoggie]

Heh
Thanks. How can one check?

I just tweeted them to ask, just in case I'd missed them.