Tenby to Cardiff One Way.

[Envoy]

The split sites tell me that I can save about half the fare of a Tenby to Cardiff one way fare by doing a split at Swansea.

I went on the TfW site this morning and found the fares for advance tickets between Tenby & Swansea - which you can see on the attachment (RC discount applied). Does this mean that these are Advance fares only? It does not say what the fare is if I were to just show up and pay on the train as Tenby station is, I think, unmanned.

So, would I pay the same direct to the guard in this case?

Could I also pay the TfW guard for the second leg on GWR from Swansea to Cardiff. (It is too risky to go to the ticket desk at Swansea as the GWR train might leave). Would it be better to just board the GWR train and pay that guard/train manager & if so doing, would the fare be the same as buying on-line beforehand?

Finally, if boarding the GWR train without a ticket, would I be accused of fare dodging & fined despite the fact that it would be risky to buy the ticket in Swansea due to the tight change time?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Tenby station has a ticket machine, so you'd be expected to have bought (and collected as appropriate) your ticket(s) before boarding a train there.

If you bought from the machine on the day, a Tenby->Cardiff Anytime Day Single with railcard discount applied would be £21.80.

From Tenby to Swansea, it's £13.00. From Swansea to Cardiff, it's £9.20. Total £22.20.

The TVM at Tenby, may, or may not, offer (booked train only), advance single tickets. The train guard likely wouldn't.

P.S. Best not to board a train (at Tenby or if changing at Swansea) without having a ticket for wherever you're then getting off that train.

 

[JonathanH]

The TVM at Tenby, may, or may not, offer (booked train only), advance single tickets.

TfW don't have journey planner based ticket machines, so won't sell advance tickets directly.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

TfW don't have journey planner based ticket machines, so won't sell advance tickets directly.

Thanks for clarifying.

So, not the same as the Northern ones which can sell booked train only Advance singles until shortly before scheduled departure time.

Would the TfW machine at Tenby be capable of selling a ticket from, say, Swansea to Cardiff?

Or is the only option (if physical ticket(s) is/are required before departing from Tenby) to book online and then collect from the TVM prior to departure?

 

[Watershed]

I went on the TfW site this morning and found the fares for advance tickets between Tenby & Swansea - which you can see on the attachment (RC discount applied). Does this mean that these are Advance fares only?

Those are all Advance fares. You can of course also buy walk-up fares if you prefer, but it's quite a lot more expensive since the Advance fares are cheaper in the first place and are based on 'single leg pricing', whereas a walk-up single is only marginally less than a return (the historic BR structure which has essentially remained in aspic).

It does not say what the fare is if I were to just show up and pay on the train as Tenby station is, I think, unmanned.

The walk-up Anytime Day Single from Tenby to Swansea is £13 with a Railcard; to Cardiff it's £21.80.

Tenby is indeed unmanned but it is reported as having a ticket machine; if that machine is in operation and it accepts the method of payment you'd like to use, you're obliged to use it to buy a ticket before boarding.

If you buy onboard without a valid reason, you could in theory be forced to pay the cost of an undiscounted Anytime (Day) Single to the next stop, but in practice you would usually be offered the option of buying one to your destination. You could also be reported for prosecution for a breach of Byelaw 18.

If the guard were being nice, they might sell you a Railcard discounted fare. But they're under no obligation to do this, and even if they wanted to, they couldn't sell you an Advance ticket as these must be bought before the train leaves (usually at least 5-10 minutes before, but this varies depending on the exact circumstances - sometimes it can be before the train departs its origin station).

So, would I pay the same direct to the guard in this case?

See above.

Could I also pay the TfW guard for the second leg on GWR from Swansea to Cardiff. (It is too risky to go to the ticket desk at Swansea as the GWR train might leave).

They might be willing to sell you split tickets, but they'd be under no obligation to do so. If you want split tickets, it's best to buy these ahead of time - you can obtain these as an e-ticket or for collection at any ticket machine (including the one at Tenby).

Would it be better to just board the GWR train and pay that guard/train manager & if so doing, would the fare be the same as buying on-line beforehand?

As above, you wouldn't be entitled to buy onboard unless you were unable to buy a ticket from the machine before boarding. If this happens to be the case, and the guard didn't come through before Swansea selling tickets, you'd be under no obligation to buy a ticket at Swansea if it meant you'd miss your connection. But if there's sufficient time, you'd be required to do so and could be treated as ticketless (with all of the associated consequences) if you failed to do so.

Finally, if boarding the GWR train without a ticket, would I be accused of fare dodging & fined despite the fact that it would be risky to buy the ticket in Swansea due to the tight change time?

If you have a good reason for not having bought your ticket before starting your journey in Tenby, and the guard didn't come through selling tickets before Swansea, and there wasn't enough time to buy a ticket when changing trains at Swansea, then you would be entitled to pay just the Railcard discounted fare on the GWR service (or on arrival at Cardiff, if the guard doesn't come through on the GWR service). But otherwise you could be treated as ticketless and penalised accordingly.

 

[Envoy]

Many thanks everyone for your answers and especially Watershed for your detailed response. The person I know will not be making the journey today but I needed to know the correct information to pass on.

So, it seems that it is best to buy the tickets beforehand. I have now been back to the TfW website and the Trainline website and put in for the full Tenby to Cardiff journey and the results are amazing. TfW offer the lowest fare only on the schedule that involves their trains only. For the schedules that involve a change to GWR at Swansea, they come in with a fare (Rail Card applied) of £21.80. Trainline tell me that I can use the TfW trains from Tenby to Swansea and change to the GWR with the dearest option being £12.45. That’s £9.35 less than what I would pay TfW if I booked via them and the saving would be even more for those without railcards. The way TfW put it, implies that cost conscious travellers would limit themselves to that particular TfW service.

I think that TfW are being devious. The moral of the tale seems to be don’t bother to book with the train companies but use the split sites - and be careful with them as some charge more commission than others.

Here are images of my searches with Trainline first and TfW second:>

 

[Haywain]

I think that TfW are being devious. The moral of the tale seems to be don’t bother to book with the train companies but use the split sites - and be careful with them as some charge more commission than others.

If you want to benefit from split tickets, use a retailer of split tickets. TfW don't purport to offer such things so they are really not being devious.