Megatrain not always the best bet....

[Butts]

I am expecting my son and his girlfriend to visit me in Falkirk in October.

In order to facilitate their journey I had to source tickets from Sandwell & Dudley to Falkirk.

Initially I was minded to attempt to obtain Megatrain Tickets for their cheapness. However mindful of the scarcity and availability between Birmingham and Edinburgh only I decided to explore other options.

Cost of megatrain journey Birmingham - Edinburgh £1.50
S&D - Birmingham £ 2.70
Edinburgh - Falkirk £5.50

Total £9.70


I have managed to source a ticket from S&D to Falkirk via Wolverhampton and Edinburgh Waverley for £16.

On the return journey I have managed to source the same fare and the train from Edinburgh is direct to Sandwell & Dudley with no change required at Wolverhampton.

Had they had railcards the journey would have been even closer to the megatrain fare.

The advantage of the "Virgin Direct" fare is the fact seat reservations are included where appropriate and I have been able to book it today rather than hanging on for a couple of weeks to see if I could get a couple of Megatrain pound specials. Also they won't have the well documented dilema of getting out early and changing to a S&D train like I did.

Well done Virgin - according to the website I saved £364 compared to buying the tickets at the stations on the days of departure. A bit like a " DFS sale" I know but nice to hear.

 

[WillPS]

Virgin allocate X many seats as available for discounted advance purchase 3 months ahead of travel date.

After 2 months, they can see trains which are likely run with a lot of space, and will sell tickets for these trains, in bulk, to their controlling shareholder Stagecoach, who then retail them through Megatrain. Megatrain ticket availability/pricing is not linked to Virgin Advance Purchase availability/pricing, nor do they claim to be.

It's always worth a look, but I've only actually used Megatrain once (on a route where they're no longer offered). I don't like the dis-clarity between the product and the NRCoC - am I protected if a connecting train is late? Would I receive a refund if I ended up standing for a whole journey due to shortforming (as I probably would with any other ticket)? Probably not, I think is the answer - although in the case of the latter the interesting phrasing of "1 seat" may prove useful.

For a quid, yeah, brilliant, but when the saving is only around 25% of the standard AP price (which I frequently find) I'd rather pay the premium, get a reservation and some peace of mind.

 

[Butts]

On the outward portion of the journey they have been issued one ticket from sandwell & dudley to falkirk stations with a reservation for the wolverhampton to edinburgh leg of the journey.

When they get to edinburgh and have to change trains for falkirk can they break the journey (ie spend a few hours there and continue on a later train to falkirk)

The ticket does not specify any particular train from Edinburgh to Falkirk.

It says Virgin West Coast and connections.

Thanks

 

[AlterEgo]

On the outward portion of the journey they have been issued one ticket from sandwell & dudley to falkirk stations with a reservation for the wolverhampton to edinburgh leg of the journey.

When they get to edinburgh and have to change trains for falkirk can they break the journey (ie spend a few hours there and continue on a later train to falkirk)

The ticket does not specify any particular train from Edinburgh to Falkirk.

It says Virgin West Coast and connections.

Thanks

Well - in theory, Advance tickets allow no break of journey, so they shouldn't be leaving the station at Edinburgh (except for a fag perhaps, etc)

The second leg may be unreserved buy using it very late on the Scotrail service will arouse suspicion about breaking of journey, which is not permitted on an Advance ticket.

Of course, there is no problem with using station facilities at Edinburgh, for however long you wish. There has been quite a strong RPI (or TE?) presence at Edinburgh whenever I've been so I would advise against trying to "get away" with it. However, if you speak nicely to the gate staff, you might get lucky.

People have their own opinions about break of journey restrictions and how enforceable they may or may not be - I'm sure they'll be along soon. However, I would never advise anyone to break the TnCs of their tickets!

 

[Butts]

Well - in theory, Advance tickets allow no break of journey, so they shouldn't be leaving the station at Edinburgh (except for a fag perhaps, etc)

The second leg may be unreserved buy using it very late on the Scotrail service will arouse suspicion about breaking of journey, which is not permitted on an Advance ticket.

Of course, there is no problem with using station facilities at Edinburgh, for however long you wish. There has been quite a strong RPI (or TE?) presence at Edinburgh whenever I've been so I would advise against trying to "get away" with it. However, if you speak nicely to the gate staff, you might get lucky.

People have their own opinions about break of journey restrictions and how enforceable they may or may not be - I'm sure they'll be along soon. However, I would never advise anyone to break the TnCs of their tickets!

You couldn't risk the quip about the fag actually luckily neither of them smoke.

The Virgin Service often comes in at a platform "away from the gated area" of the station so that would not be a problem. Sometimes the Falkirk Train goes from an ungated platform as well.

As long as they don't take the p*s* I thought they might get an hour or two to have a look around - mind you it will probably be raining :roll: