London to Brighton - nationalrail not showing a cheaper fare

[ianBR]

I'm looking to book a return ticket from London to Brighton as part of a longer trip (as LNER wouldn't give their special family return to London fare with a ticket going to Brighton)

2 Adults
2 Children with family and friends railcard.

(times are approximate)
Outward: 7 March 16:30
Return: 10 March 10:30
Kings Cross to Brighton (any permitted so they can go via victoria on a gatwick express)

LNER and Southern are both quoting £80.20 for a
London Underground and DLR Zones 1-6 Off-Peak Return to Brighton

However Trainsplitter gives a cheaper fare of £73.90 with no splitting of
London Underground Zone 1 to Brighton Off-Peak Return (SVR)

Why doesn't this cheaper fare appear on National Rail / Southern websites? Will it be valid for the journey from Kings Cross to Victoria?


Thanks

 

[A Challenge]

I don't know why it isn't showing elsewhere, but that is valid KXSP - Victoria - Brighton, subject to route restrictions, so if it is ANY PERMITTED, just straight down to Brighton is alright (as well as other.

Other than a recommendation not to use Gatwick Express, I can't advise anything else for that, that seems best.

 

[OwlMan]

Try inputting St Pancras as the start station (this is where the Thameslink trains depart) for the cheapest fares with no need to use the underground.

 

[A Challenge]

Try inputting St Pancras as the start station (this is where the Thameslink trains depart) for the cheapest fares with no need to use the underground.

They've said they want to use Gatwick Express, though?

 

[alistairlees]

It’s only £58.00 for an off peak return from St Pancras to Brighton though for 2 adults and 2 children with family railcard. Not valid on the underground, but only a very short walk from kings cross to st Pancras, then direct. You could always change at Gatwick airport onto a Gatwick express if you really wanted to.

 

[30907]

I can't find the cheaper fare on BRFares, but Finsbury Park - Brighton + Any Permitted (valid on the tube, starting short permitted, no evening restriction) appears to be cheaper anyway at £68.90.

 

[ianBR]

Thanks all. Breaking the journey up with the tube and then a fast gatwick express makes the journey seem less painful for the kids - the thameslink can seem really slow with all the stops from St Pancras after a 2 hour journey from York

It amazes me how the industry gets away without displaying the cheapest fare. National Rail, LNER, Southern and the trainline all fail to show the cheaper non travelcard option from Kings Cross so most people would end up overpaying.

I'll check out the Finsbury Park option.

 

[alistairlees]

Thanks all. Breaking the journey up with the tube and then a fast gatwick express makes the journey seem less painful for the kids - the thameslink can seem really slow with all the stops from St Pancras after a 2 hour journey from York

It amazes me how the industry gets away without displaying the cheapest fare. National Rail, LNER, Southern and the trainline all fail to show the cheaper non travelcard option from Kings Cross so most people would end up overpaying.

I'll check out the Finsbury Park option.

I can see the £73.90 fare on trainsplit.co.uk but I can’t see it in the fares database. There are no fares from / to Brighton that are only to zone 1. There are all set to zone 1-6. In this case it may we’ll be that national rail etc are correct and that trainsplit is not.

 

[ianBR]

Actually the southern website is quoting £63.20 for Finsbury Park to Brighton return including itineraries that go via the tube from Finsbury Park to Victoria. This is considerably cheaper.

Would they run into any problems getting on the tube at Kings Cross with this ticket? Am keen to avoid them needing to argue with platform staff anywhere.

The ticket says break of journey allowed on the outbound and return and presumably you could have travelled via Thameslink from Finsbury park and switched to the tube at KX rather than Finsbury Park.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Actually the southern website is quoting £63.20 for Finsbury Park to Brighton return including itineraries that go via the tube from Finsbury Park to Victoria. This is considerably cheaper.

Would they run into any problems getting on the tube at Kings Cross with this ticket? Am keen to avoid them needing to argue with platform staff anywhere.

The ticket says break of journey allowed on the outbound and return and presumably you could have travelled via Thameslink from Finsbury park and switched to the tube at KX rather than Finsbury Park.

Actually I think you might get a better price if you book at a ticket office. That's because Southern /Gatwick Express/GTR offer £2 flat fares for accompanied children. The requirement when using a Family Railcard (for the adult fares) is simply that you are travelling together with children - there is no requirement that you are using ordinary fares with a child discount.

Ticketing websites are unable to work this out intelligently enough, but a ticket office may be able and willing to sell you two adult, Family & Friends discounted, Finsbury Park to Brighton Off-Peak Returns, as well as two child flat return fares (see this fare). That would then be £5.70 less than Southern's website is selling you the tickets for.

This is a good example of why the same journey, with effectively speaking the same fares, can cost wildly varying amounts depending on where you buy the tickets!

There shouldn't be any issues at the King's Cross St Pancras Underground barriers, they should accept the tickets perfectly fine as they are unquestionably valid. If you want, you can no doubt buy the tickets with an itinerary using the train from Finsbury Park, changing at King's Cross.

 

[Hadders]

There won’t be any issues with a Finsbury Park ticket on the Underground.

Gatwick Express is a waste of time, there’s nothing express about it these days and the trains have ironing board seats.

Depending on the exact times and tickets you have, if the train calls at Stevenage consider a change there onto a Thameslink Brighton service.

 

[717001]

The Thameslink version of the Kids for £2 offer has various restrictions:
https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/tickets/discounts-and-railcards/kids-for-2

At the time of posting this, that link says:

"Book your Off-Peak or Super Off-Peak ticket online and up to four children can travel with you for just £2 each on most journeys* across our network.

You can also take up to four children for just £2 each at off peak and super off peak times if you hold a valid season ticket*.

The discount will be automatically applied when you book your tickets online with the exception of certain journeys that cross London or if you are just buying child rate tickets as you already have the adult ticket for your journey. For these journeys, please visit one of our ticket offices where we will be happy to help.

*Terms and conditions

1. Journeys wholly within London Zones 1-9 are not valid.
2. Travel is not permitted on London Underground services unless the ticket is a One Day Travelcard.
3. Travel is not permitted on East Midlands Trains, Gatwick Express and LNER services.
4. Discounted tickets are not available for journeys that include rail bus links.
5. Tickets for journeys that cross between north and south of London and are not marked ‘Thameslink Only’ can be used on Southern train services on routes where both operators run services.
6. Season tickets must be valid for the journey being made and can only be used with the same time restrictions that apply to the £2 ticket."

So worth considering but restricts travel options.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

The Thameslink version of the Kids for £2 offer has various restrictions:
https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/tickets/discounts-and-railcards/kids-for-2

At the time of posting this, that link says:

"Book your Off-Peak or Super Off-Peak ticket online and up to four children can travel with you for just £2 each on most journeys* across our network.

You can also take up to four children for just £2 each at off peak and super off peak times if you hold a valid season ticket*.

The discount will be automatically applied when you book your tickets online with the exception of certain journeys that cross London or if you are just buying child rate tickets as you already have the adult ticket for your journey. For these journeys, please visit one of our ticket offices where we will be happy to help.

*Terms and conditions

1. Journeys wholly within London Zones 1-9 are not valid.
2. Travel is not permitted on London Underground services unless the ticket is a One Day Travelcard.
3. Travel is not permitted on East Midlands Trains, Gatwick Express and LNER services.
4. Discounted tickets are not available for journeys that include rail bus links.
5. Tickets for journeys that cross between north and south of London and are not marked ‘Thameslink Only’ can be used on Southern train services on routes where both operators run services.
6. Season tickets must be valid for the journey being made and can only be used with the same time restrictions that apply to the £2 ticket."

So worth considering but restricts travel options.

Well, if they want to make those intended restrictions become reality they have a lot of work left to do from the current situation! When I searched for 2 adults and 2 children with a Family Railcard on the Southern site, it simply came up with 2 Railcard discounted (33%) adult fares, 1 Railcard discounted (60%) child fare, and one £2 child fare. There was no indication whatsoever that this £2 fare had any additional conditions applying to it, or indeed that it was any different to the other fares shown.