Leicester to London Season Ticket

[Singh01]

Hi Everyone,

Having come to terms with train travel costs and commuting times....

Would anyone be able to advise on cheapest travel option between Leicester and London (St Pancras). It appears the cost effective way is by buying an annual season ticket but want to check incase I've missed something.

I live in Leicester (Braunstone) and will be starting a new job soon which is walking distance from St Pancras station in London.

I will need to travel Leicester to St Pancras about 2 or 3 times a week for the forseeable future. Work will pay me for any onward travel around London when required.

Does anyone do this commute? I am also wondering if anyone knows what seat availability is like getting on from Leicester 7.30am?

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[30907]

Can't comment on the travel experience, though I would guess that trains that are non-stop from Leicester will be full from there.

As to prices, the weekly season costs less than two anytime returns. It's therefore relatively good value even for a 3-day commute.
If you/your employer can commit to specific trains/days weeks ahead then Advance tickets might be cheaper.
I am not an expert on splitting tickets, but my instinct is (having glanced at Elstree) that it's not worth it.

 

[bb21]

The worst ones for overcrowding are the 0639, 0659 and 0706 in my experience. 0736 is past the worst of the busy trains as it doesn't get into London until almost 9 o'clock which is no good for many commuters. 0742 is usually a good choice, and since EMT/R stopped calling at Bedford and Luton in the peaks, it no longer gets packed out at Bedford, or run the risk of being overtaken by the 0756 there if running late.

It is very rare to not be able to get a seat from Leicester even on those busier trains.

Getting a seat on the way back is more of an issue in the peaks if you don't arrive at the station early, so aim to get there at least 15 minutes before your intended service especially if it is around 1700.

 

[kieron]

The cheapest option is probably by bus, but I haven't looked at prices for that. I've assumed that you aren't entitled to any national railcards.

If you bought a season ticket from Wellingborough to London Terminals, an annual season ticket would cost £6500. Anytime return tickets are almost as costly as Leicester-London ones, so I wouldn't recommend those.

For Leicester-Wellingborough, a season ticket costs £2664 a year, and a day return costs £23.60. Day returns are likely to cost more from January, but at today's prices you would need to travel 113 times to justify a season ticket, which equates to 2.17 times a week every week of the year. You'll have to work out which is likely to be better for you.

The train wouldn't have to stop at Wellingborough with these tickets, although the 7:36 happens to do so.

 

[WesternLancer]

Once you have a season ticket I think it is correct to say that you can still make a seat reservation (probably at the ticket office) for your preferred train of choice each day in either direction. You are not obliged to then travel on that train or even sit in that seat. If your work pattern means you can be pretty clear which train you will get this might help.

If you did it for the 1st couple of weeks and found it unnecessary in terms of getting your seat you could no longer bother to reserve.

Also in case you did not know the season also allows:

- travel any other day you want to go to London or an intermediate place on route (eg weekend leisure trip)
- travel on other trains on the route if desired (eg the Thameslink service Bedford - London - lots of seats, not very comfy ones tho!)
- and i think travel on other routes to / from London ( - other would be able to correct me if I am wrong, but I THINK this would include going via Peterborough on the stansted train into Kings Cross, possibly via Nuneaton and then to Euston, and possibly via Bedford to Bletchley and into Euston - so long as these are what are called 'permitted routes') - whether you would ever need to do that is another matter but may be handy for you to know what you are getting for your money.

 

[hkstudent]

Once you have a season ticket I think it is correct to say that you can still make a seat reservation (probably at the ticket office) for your preferred train of choice each day in either direction. You are not obliged to then travel on that train or even sit in that seat. If your work pattern means you can be pretty clear which train you will get this might help.

If you did it for the 1st couple of weeks and found it unnecessary in terms of getting your seat you could no longer bother to reserve.

Also in case you did not know the season also allows:

- travel any other day you want to go to London or an intermediate place on route (eg weekend leisure trip)
- travel on other trains on the route if desired (eg the Thameslink service Bedford - London - lots of seats, not very comfy ones tho!)
- and i think travel on other routes to / from London ( - other would be able to correct me if I am wrong, but I THINK this would include going via Peterborough on the stansted train into Kings Cross, possibly via Nuneaton and then to Euston, and possibly via Bedford to Bletchley and into Euston - so long as these are what are called 'permitted routes') - whether you would ever need to do that is another matter but may be handy for you to know what you are getting for your money.

I don't see the via Peterborough route on the Yellow Page. Anyone can advise the source for that route if it is permitted?
or maybe that's just for tickets from Oakham / Nottingham?

I have searched a similar post, dated 2009, for travel from Oakham:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/leicester-london-many-questions.24103/

 

[JB_B]

I don't see the via Peterborough route on the Yellow Page. Anyone can advise the source for that route if it is permitted?

I have searched a similar post, dated 2009, for travel from Oakham:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/leicester-london-many-questions.24103/

Peterborough isn't on a permitted route for Leicester - London Terminals (which is most likely what the OP needs).

It would be permitted on a Leicester-London Z1-6 Travelcard, however.

 

[hkstudent]

Peterborough isn't on a permitted route for Leicester - London Terminals (which is most likely what the OP needs).

It would be permitted on a Leicester-London Z1-6 Travelcard, however.

I am not sure if the Oakham post still be relevant today?

 

[JB_B]

I am not sure if the Oakham post still be relevant today?

Do you mean this post ? Not sure - probably - the price from Oakham-London Terminals route Any Permitted is still the same as from Leicester and gets you the extra validity via the East Coast Mainline.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks for the comments ref the via P'boro route. Obv the OP is probably not going to be deciding based on that part of the equation anyway, but helpful to have the added clarity.