Split tickets

[albion1]

Hi,

New to this board.

We want travel from Exeter to Birmingham on 1st July with Two Together Card.

The fare quoted for the time selected (12.23) is 48.60 which is direct but using Trainsplit.com the same train and fare comes out at 32.40 split into 3 segments (Exeter-Bristol, Bristol-Cheltenham and Cheltenham-Birmingham. If I go onto CrossCountry website and purchase separate tickets the total amount is just 30.60.

As the train is direct for these 3 segments, my question is will there be any problem staying on the same train with 3 separate tickets? It might involve moving to another seat but as far as I can work out it seems perfectly valid and legal.

Also would you suggest using Trainsplit.com for the sake of just another 1.80?

Thanks.

 

[Muzer]

The most important rule to remember is that your train must stop at all stations where you change from one ticket to another (there are a few exceptions to this rule but they're not important for this situation).

While technically I believe you were (not sure if it's still the case) required to use the seat on your reservation when you have an advance purchase ticket, I've never seen this enforced myself, and I don't think anyone else on this forum has either. So just finding an unreserved seat (if you're lucky enough to be on a five-coach CrossCountry train that actually HAS unreserved seats...) is probably easiest to avoid having to move!

 

[brompton rail]

Hi,

New to this board.

We want travel from Exeter to Birmingham on 1st July with Two Together Card.

The fare quoted for the time selected (12.23) is 48.60 which is direct but using Trainsplit.com the same train and fare comes out at 32.40 split into 3 segments (Exeter-Bristol, Bristol-Cheltenham and Cheltenham-Birmingham. If I go onto CrossCountry website and purchase separate tickets the total amount is just 30.60.

As the train is direct for these 3 segments, my question is will there be any problem staying on the same train with 3 separate tickets? It might involve moving to another seat but as far as I can work out it seems perfectly valid and legal.

Also would you suggest using Trainsplit.com for the sake of just another 1.80?

Thanks.

If your tickets are valid on the trains you choose to use then they are valid for your complete journey. If you can find unreserved seats you won't have to move, though if your tickets include reservations you may need to move around to occupy those reserved seats. Whether you show all your tickets to the Train Manager at once or choose to show each only on the relevant part of your journey is up to you. The Train Manager from Exeter may come off at Bristol, but between Bristol and Birmingham you will have the same Train Manager. Where relevant I always show all tickets for the section I know she/he will be covering and have never experienced any comments other than "fine" or "you know what you're doing". As TM Kevin Kramer from Leeds would say ' sit back, relax and enjoy'!

 

[ainsworth74]

Also would you suggest using Trainsplit.com for the sake of just another 1.80?

It's entirely up to you. The £1.80 is effectively their commission as they charge you 10% of the saving as a fee. So as they found you a split that was £18 cheaper than the through ticket they charge you 10% of that £18 as a fee. There's nothing stopping you using their website to find cheaper tickets and then booking elsewhere.