thetrainline

[bennorthyork]

In comparing fares on thetrainline with other ticket providers for example TOC's own websites are ticket prices the same (fees aside)? The only one I've find so far that is difference it East Coast with it's 10% off advance fares on it's routes.

 

[Urban Gateline]

In comparing fares on thetrainline with other ticket providers for example TOC's own websites are ticket prices the same (fees aside)? The only one I've find so far that is difference it East Coast with it's 10% off advance fares on it's routes.

Yes the fares are exactly the same (except discounts on TOC's own websites as you mentioned), there's hardly any reason to use TheTrainLine what with their extortionate fees!

 

[Greenback]

Some TOC's have special offers from time to time (like EC), but otherwise the same fares will be on all websites as they all use the same data. The difference is in the presentation of each site, which means that the fares options may be in a different order, or some fares may need to be accessed by specifying a certain route, in order to be visible.

Sometimes people claim the fares are different on various sites, but this seems to be related to the fact that the ticket systems ar ereal time, and an allocation of a certain type of fare may be thought to have sold out if it has been 'reserved' for a time epriod to allow someone to complete a transaction on the first site they went to.

I believe ther eis also an exception tot he general rule in that the Virgin trains website does not show all of the fares available. I could be wrong about this, as I must admit I don't know that much about it.

 

[tony_mac]

Sometimes people claim the fares are different on various sites, but this seems to be related to the fact that the ticket systems ar ereal time, and an allocation of a certain type of fare may be thought to have sold out if it has been 'reserved' for a time epriod to allow someone to complete a transaction on the first site they went to.

I think it also happens that different sites can give different routeings and different stations to change, which can also change things.

Sometimes certain tickets are only available on certain websites - e.g. Eastcoast's online only super-off-peak single.

I believe ther eis also an exception tot he general rule in that the Virgin trains website does not show all of the fares available. I could be wrong about this, as I must admit I don't know that much about it.

Yes, Virgin don't show off-peak returns for travel on London Midland trains and instead only show two off-peak singles (when the route is priced by Virgin).
They also don't show London Midland only fares.

 

[pkkelly]

Yes, Virgin don't show off-peak returns for travel on London Midland trains and instead only show two off-peak singles (when the route is priced by Virgin).

Virgin's booking engine is a disgrace and I don't know how they are allowed to get away with it. Lots of people must be getting ripped off, eg:

- Try to book a return and it tries to sell you two singles. Example - Milton Keynes to London - it will happily sell you two off-peak singles at £13 each without offering the off-peak return at £13.85. It is not at all obvious how to get it to offer the return.

- Wanting a London travelcard from Milton Keynes? It makes you buy an £8.50 separate travelcard rather than selling you the travelcard as an integrated ticket from MK - even though this ticket is cheaper than the off-peak return! (Other sites will offer the integrated travelcard)

- Wanting to do an off-peak day trip from Milton Keynes to somewhere in Greater London beyond Euston? It will offer you an off-peak return even though the Virgin-only or LM-only travelcard is cheaper than an "any permitted" off-peak return to Euston. (Other sites will offer the Travelcard.)

- They don't show what the conditions are, eg if you manage to buy an off-peak return from London to Manchester it does not tell you that the return leg is valid for a month. Instead it makes it look like it is only valid on the day that you select.

- They make their off-peak returns (eg London to Manchester) looks like web-only fares even though they are walk-up fares.

Does nobody regulate this stuff?

On the other hand, Virgin's site is the only place to get their Off-Peak singles (in combination with an advance in the other direction - the old "Saver Half") - but only if you know how to!

They also don't show London Midland only fares.

Not quite - you can get them via "Click here to check if slower routes with cheaper tickets are available". But I agree that they hide them.

 

[dvboy]

London Midland dont make their own LM-only fares obvious either!

 

[SS4]

London Midland dont make their own LM-only fares obvious either!

Unless you hover over the price. Not that I've tried Virgin's site for a while, I only use it for the saver half nowadays

 

[pkkelly]

And another way that Virgin try to get more money into their greasy palms. If you ask for a railcard single from Milton Keynes to Euston on a weekday it only offers the "Virgin Trains only" one, even though the "Any Permitted" one is the same price - £13 minimum fare.

To find the "Any Permitted" ticket you need to click the "slower trains" link even though you may well want to be travelling on one of Virgin's trains but just want more flexibility in the event of delays,.

 

[cuccir]

The difference is in the presentation of each site, which means that the fares options may be in a different order, or some fares may need to be accessed by specifying a certain route, in order to be visible.

Some of the sites interpret the advance ticket rules slightly differently. I've found in the past that East Coast will sometimes offer advance TPE&Connections tickets with short TransPennine journeys and long 'connections'; TransPennine's own website won't sell these tickets (because, I think, they're not meant to exist). But these are rare exceptions - bugs really, rather than how its meant to work.

 

[Paul Kelly]

On the other hand, Virgin's site is the only place to get their Off-Peak singles (in combination with an advance in the other direction - the old "Saver Half") - but only if you know how to!

You can also get them from takethetrain.co.uk (it calls them ONLINE OFFPEAK). It almost has the opposite problem on this corridor in that it shows all the cheapest tickets on the slow London Midland trains and it's hard to get it to show the fast Virgin services. But it has a nice interface and is one of the better independent booking engines I feel.

 

[pkkelly]

You can also get them from takethetrain.co.uk (it calls them ONLINE OFFPEAK).

Thanks, I was not aware of that site.

 

[SickyNicky]

You can also get them from takethetrain.co.uk

Just be aware that takethetrain won't tell you if you have seat reservations or not until after you've paid. Most other sites will tell you if they've managed to reserve seats, and give you the seat numbers BEFORE you pay for them.

 

[shinkansen1966]

Yes the fares are exactly the same (except discounts on TOC's own websites as you mentioned), there's hardly any reason to use TheTrainLine what with their extortionate fees!

My advice:

Book your fares via the TOC who sets them.

If in doubt, go to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ and it should direct you to the relevant TOC.

I've lost count of the number of times, I've advised people not to use thetrainline.