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milton keynes to leeds, return from york

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Hello all

During august I plan to do the following:

Friday 10th august
Milton Keynes Central [MKC] => Leeds [LDS] arriving for 6pm.

Sunday 19th august
York [YRK] => Milton Keynes Central [MKC] leaving in the late morning/early afternoon.

On the outward leg ([MKC] - [LDS]) I would be willing to be booked on a specific train however on the return I would like to be flexible with the times.

I know its too early to book tickets for this but can anyone give me any advice on splits or when to book etc, to try to get the price down to a reasonable level without sacrificing journey times. I will most likely have a 16-25 railcard by this time so could you advise for both with and without it incase I don't get around to it.

Also because of the olympics and the extra congestion it causes, I would prefer to avoid London unless there was a significant price and/or time difference.

Thanks for your help.
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yorkie

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On the outward leg ([MKC] - [LDS]) I would be willing to be booked on a specific train however on the return I would like to be flexible with the times.
It would be cheaper to buy Advance singles, but this won't give you flexibility.

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If you want flexibility, you will need Off Peak Returns.

"Splitting" the journey into a combination of tickets may work.

The easiest way to identify places to "split" is to either use opentraintimes.com to find the calling points or use a WebTIS website (e.g. EC, LM etc) and click the info (i) button next to the itinerary you want, then tick 'show all calling points', this shows the places where you could "split" the journey into a combination of tickets (note the train must call on the return journey too).

The places where you could split depend on the route you wish to take.

Note that if you want to return a different day (as in this case), then unless singles are sensibly priced (unlikely) it will not be cheaper to split at stations where only Day Return tickets are available. Therefore, it is generally only best to look at longer distance tickets, where Off Peak Return (SVR) fares can be combined.

If you really need flexibility on the return ticket, but not the outward, then you could get an Advance to Leeds, and a Grand Central Only Off Peak Single York-London (GC, Hull Trains and FGW price many of their singles as not much more than half the return - unlike other companies who charge only pennies less!), plus a single London-Milton Keynes, or an Advance to Leeds and then a string of Off Peak Day singles between York & Milton Keynes avoiding London.
 

Crossover

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Avoiding Lindon should be possible

I used to do MKC - Dewsbury returns, which are valid I believe both via Manchester or via Birmingham/Leeds (not Doncaster though I don't think).

Via Manchester was quicker though so I used to split tickets there so may be worth looking at

If you have a YP then it's something like £8-9 single York to Leeds

I have done Scarborough to MKC via Manchester before and it isn't too arduous :)
 

DarloRich

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aha a journey i am VERY familiar with!

I always try to go through London becuase i find it a better conection for my needs. I can then use WIFI the whole way. I also think it is quicker if you use the Virgin service and then a GC or and EC express. I find a return to Euston (with my network card) and then a GC only ticket is often best.

If you dont fancy that i have found changing trains mid route on EC is the cheapest way. I often take a Hull or Leeds train to, say, Newark, and then change there to the following newcastle/edinburgh service.

Coming south, even at short notice, you can pick up c.£35 York - Kings Cross singles most of the time. A good one is the 1601 off York. It is slow but cheap!

However, the cheapest way might well be TPE to Manchester and Virgin from there ( the cheapest i have found is TPE to Manchester, Virgin to Crewe and then LM back to the Keynes but it takes AGES!)

If you go XC try a split a York - Sheffield, a Sheffield- Derby and then Derby - Birmingham (or combination there of) split

You could always go for a run down the MML and then get the Marston Vale from Bedford to Bletchley if you fancy a change, as long as it isnt a Sunday! There are some decent deals on EMT on Saturday. I got a Leeds - St Pancras FC ticket (thanks to some good advice on here :lol:) for very little

I do this journey at least once a week for work and then to Darlington once every few weeks for the match - but the main problem is i get little notice meaning i cant book in advance. You shuld be able to so should get a good deal!
 

34D

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If you have a YP then it's something like £8-9 single York to Leeds

During your stay, will you be travelling leeds to York at all? Its quite an expensive journey that's all. Can someone look up MKC-YRK off-peak return please, so we know what to beat?

Finally, if you fancied the X4 bus MK to peterborough (or driving) an SSR PBO-YRK is reasonably priced.
 

yorkie

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MKC-YRK
SVR (Off Peak Return) £56.95 (Rte: Not London, valid after 0930)
SSR (Super Off Peak Return) £72.95 (Rte: +Any Permitted, valid any train MKC<>EUS and various restrictions apply KGX<>YRK/LDS)
Prices are shown with Railcard discount applied

Bizarrely, a MKC-LDS SVR routed Not London is priced as more expensive (at £58.40) than the same ticket to York, despite Leeds being on the way towards York. But that's CrossCountry for you, utterly bonkers pricing strategies.

Oh, and slightly cheaper, is a LBZ-YRK, at £55.10. This fare is priced by Virgin and does however have different restrictions. Unlike the MKC ticket, this ticket does have evening peak restrictions.... unless you go via Birmingham, in which case XCs restrictions apply. (Simple, eh?)
 
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Crossover

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What I have got so far is the following (this assumes you don't mind a via Manchester and a via Stoke, rather than via Crewe. From experience though, most MKC - MAN call at SOT rather than at CRE)

MKC - SOT: £17.80 (LM only - thanks for pointing this out Yorkie :))
SOT - MAN: £9.75
MAN - YRK: £17.95
As far as I know, these are all SVR's. I am using EC site though so can't be certain at the moment that they are all SVR's.

Total: £45.50

Prices are shown with Railcard discount applied

I reckon between us we can do one better though!

_________________________________________________

Even just splitting at Manchester and using a MKC - MAN ticket at £38.30 gives a total 70p less than the through. Though this overall saving isn't a good as the one I used to get to Dewsbury
 
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thanks for the advice guys, its just that I have to stress that I am going to Leeds and coming back from York, everything in between as far as I know will have been sorted out.

I have been looking up a few splits on my own as well and have found that even splitting at Manchester and getting a TPE advance between there and Leeds can save a huge amount (I thought that Manchester to Leeds would be a LOT more expensive than it is).

You could always go for a run down the MML and then get the Marston Vale from Bedford to Bletchley if you fancy a change, as long as it isnt a Sunday! There are some decent deals on EMT on Saturday. I got a Leeds - St Pancras FC ticket (thanks to some good advice on here :lol:) for very little
I never thought about using the MML, I would definitely have to consider it, luckily Bedford station is only about 30-45 mins away from where I live so I can consider going from there, do EMT still do occasional trains to York/Leeds from st pancakes, if so is there a reasonable interchange anywhere with a service from Bedford?
 

142094

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If you have a YP railcard, book the TPE ticket through the 'Student' link on their website to get an additional discount. You don't need to be a student to buy it either, just as long as you have a YP railcard.
 

DarloRich

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thanks for the advice guys, its just that I have to stress that I am going to Leeds and coming back from York, everything in between as far as I know will have been sorted out.

I have been looking up a few splits on my own as well and have found that even splitting at Manchester and getting a TPE advance between there and Leeds can save a huge amount (I thought that Manchester to Leeds would be a LOT more expensive than it is).


I never thought about using the MML, I would definitely have to consider it, luckily Bedford station is only about 30-45 mins away from where I live so I can consider going from there, do EMT still do occasional trains to York/Leeds from st pancakes, if so is there a reasonable interchange anywhere with a service from Bedford?

I have only used a direct EMT form Leeds on a Sunday. I think there are 3 or . These are HST. There is one train from York which runs via Doncaster. This is a Meridian. In the summer i think it runs to Scarborough

If it isnt a Sunday just use the Marston Vale service to Blethcley and hence to MKC
 
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Mike395

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If you fancy a trip up the MML, bear in mind that as a general rule, weekday off-peak you will have to change at either Derby or Leicester if you are travelling anywhere north of Sheffield from Bedford :)
 
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have just looked at the fares for going via the MML and without railcard Bedford Midland [BDM] to Leeds [LDS] advance avoiding london is £30 through, its just a shame that returning from York [YRK] to Bedford Midland [BDM] there doesn't seem to be a good advance ticket
 

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EMT aren't best known for their fares from York since they don't really have need to compete with EC. Same with Leeds really for the limited service they run there.

If you didn't need to flexible with travelling times, into London EC do some storming fares if booked well enough in advance (I have got a ticket from Leeds to London for about £8 booked 12 weeks in advance to use this April) but I guess that won't be an option.

Alternatively, if you don't need to be flexible in one direction, book a cheap AP from MKC to MAN and then get a single back. I believe when booked with an AP in one direction, the single is half price of a return, so this may help a little bit.

I'll drop you a PM about the TPE bit
 

calc7

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from MKC to MAN and then get a single back. I believe when booked with an AP in one direction, the single is half price of a return, so this may help a little bit.

If booked on the Virgin (or some trainline-powered) websites.
 

Crossover

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If booked on the Virgin (or some trainline-powered) websites.

Thanks for that :)

I've not used it myself I have to say, but know people who have.

I'd generally advise booking through the TOC where possibly anyway :) (none of this thetrainline.com stuff!)
 
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