TrainPal / NLC 8454

[TheManOnThe172]

A slick app, but not a patch on trainsplit for split tickets.

Trainpal are obviously more cost-conscious about the (no doubt substantial) processing needed to identify the best split for an itinerary - so they only offer this once you have chosen a specific service (or pair of services if opting for a return). So if you have some flexibility on exact timing and want to choose based on the itinerary with the cheapest split, Trainpal involves repeated searches.

And there seems to be no way of opting for flexible-ticket-only splits: if the cheapest option uses Advance tickets, then that is all you will be offered - even if you could achieve an all-flexible split for a few pence more.

 

[TrainPal]

There's something not quite right about it.

The person who booked also contacted their helpline and no-one seemed to know anything about it, which is very unusual for a helpline for a train booking site.

A slick app, but not a patch on trainsplit for split tickets.

Trainpal are obviously more cost-conscious about the (no doubt substantial) processing needed to identify the best split for an itinerary - so they only offer this once you have chosen a specific service (or pair of services if opting for a return). So if you have some flexibility on exact timing and want to choose based on the itinerary with the cheapest split, Trainpal involves repeated searches.

And there seems to be no way of opting for flexible-ticket-only splits: if the cheapest option uses Advance tickets, then that is all you will be offered - even if you could achieve an all-flexible split for a few pence more.

Dear customer, thanks for your review and very useful feedback. However, here are some cases where ticket splitting could work but you haven't tested yet. For example, some Advance tickets are available to split via TrainPal. We would recommend you to use more and look forward to your further feedback.

As a startup team, we still have a long way to go. we develop the split technology by ourselves instead of using any third parties. Obviously our split ticketing function is not perfect, but we are keeping optimizing it. And it is also a reason that we do not charge any service fees for split ticketing. We believe that our split technology will surpass TrainSplit within 6 months since we have a group of excellent scientists and programmers studying it. Anyway, thanks for sharing your opinions.

 

[robbeech]

Whilst it is good news that you have a team of people who are constantly developing things to improve your system it would be somewhat folly to assume that your competitors do not also have the same developments to improve their systems further.

 

[TrainPal]

Whilst it is good news that you have a team of people who are constantly developing things to improve your system it would be somewhat folly to assume that your competitors do not also have the same developments to improve their systems further.

Sure we respect the developers of TrainSplit and we believe that they will improve their systems as well. That is good news to all travelers since we have the same objective - save money for your journey.

 

[yorkie]

Dear customer, thanks for your review and very useful feedback. However, here are some cases where ticket splitting could work but you haven't tested yet. For example, some Advance tickets are available to split via TrainPal. We would recommend you to use more and look forward to your further feedback.

Ledbury to Leeds departing 11:58 came up as £89; using the "split ticket" button it reduced to £86.50, however another ticket splitting provider was offering the journey at a total of only £53.72

...We believe that our split technology will surpass TrainSplit within 6 months since we have a group of excellent scientists and programmers studying it....

That's a very bold claim, but I'll give it a go in November to see if that is achieved.

 

[cuccir]

That is good news to all travelers since we have the same objective - save money for your journey.

No it isn't. Your objective is to sell tickets and therefore make money.

Not that there's anything wrong with that but there's no need for that corporate nonsense on here!!

 

[yorkie]

Here's an interesting quote from the app:

7.2. What if the train delays after my split?
If the train is delayed after the split in your journey, there's no need to worry - as you'll already be on it. We suggest putting your feet up (not on the seats!) and enjoying a packet of salt 'n' vinegar (Martin's fave).

This appears to be a quote from MoneySavingExpert; I therefore assume MSE helped TrainPal with the wording.

(Salt 'n' vinegar being Martin Lewis' favourite crisps... though they have to be Walkers )

 

[TrainPal]

No it isn't. Your objective is to sell tickets and therefore make money.

Not that there's anything wrong with that but there's no need for that corporate nonsense on here!!

Sell cheap tickets and make less money.

Ledbury to Leeds departing 11:58 came up as £89; using the "split ticket" button it reduced to £86.50, however another ticket splitting provider was offering the journey at a total of only £53.72

Oops, I guess that we may choose different date. But this is how I test your case. The original price is £83.60 and the split tickets are £41.30. Since the ticket price is not stable, different days may have different split strategy. We will try to improve your case if you can tell us the exact date. Thanks for your feedback.

That's a very bold claim, but I'll give it a go in November to see if that is achieved.

 

[yorkie]

Sell cheap tickets and make less money.


Oops, I guess that we may choose different date. But this is how I test your case. The original price is £83.60 and the split tickets are £41.30. Since the ticket price is not stable, different days may have different split strategy. We will try to improve your case if you can tell us the exact date. Thanks for your feedback.
View attachment 46591

That was for today.

As for your results for 14th May, I don't see the £41.30 option. What tickets is that using?

The results I see for that date total £63.60, consisting of:
Ledbury - Derby £28.20
Derby - Leeds £35.40

 

[Joe Paxton]

...
We are geek and really do not know how to play tricks. If anyone slander us, we will reserve the legal right to take action against the reputation infringement.

Err, OK. Though this is probably the wrong business to be in for the thin-skinned!

 

[TrainPal]

Err, OK. Though this is probably the wrong business to be in for the thin-skinned!

That was for today.

As for your results for 14th May, I don't see the £41.30 option. What tickets is that using?

The results I see for that date total £63.60, consisting of:
Ledbury - Derby £28.20
Derby - Leeds £35.40

Thanks for your testing. I choose the same time as you.
Ledbury - Derby £30.20 Advance ticket
Derby - Leeds £11.10 Advance ticket
We will study your case and see what's going wrong. Thanks again and have a nice weekend!

 

[Gareth Marston]

Thanks for your testing. I choose the same time as you.
Ledbury - Derby £30.20 Advance ticket
Derby - Leeds £11.10 Advance ticket
We will study your case and see what's going wrong. Thanks again and have a nice weekend!

Their is no availability of advance purchase fares between Ledbury and Derby so that's totally wrong to start.
The arrival time into Leeds 1600 is on a XC service and the best split on that train from Derby is £11.80 Derby to Sheffield and £11.10 Sheffield to Leeds.

 

[yorkie]

Ledbury - Derby £30.20 Advance ticket
Derby - Leeds £11.10 Advance ticket
We will study your case and see what's going wrong. Thanks again and have a nice weekend!

The first ticket you mention does not appear to exist.

There is no availability of the Derby - Leeds ticket on that train on 14 May.

Many people have tried to create split ticket engines for rail fares in Britain but very few have had any real success. It is a lot harder than people think to get into, and to get it working properly.

It has taken some of us many years of spending hours of learning to understand how the ticketing system works.

The rewards are also very small, as the percentage of revenue the retailer gets for each ticket is very small indeed. Furthermore, there are substantial charges incurred, such as TOD fees.

So, good luck to anyone trying - you will need it!

 

[Gareth Marston]

I would say given the evidence so far "take with pinch of salt" anything from Trainpal until they can prove otherwise.......

 

[kingofmemphis4]

So, good luck to anyone trying - you will need it!

Not a particularly helpful comment from a "MOD". It sounds like you have a clear bias to the incumbents (who shall remain nameless).

The problem with the market is a monopoly (oligopoly) where very few companies have retailing licenses. For a V1 app their app isn't a bad effort and should be welcomed since they increase competition and choice for the consumers. TrainSplit V1, if you remember it, was nowhere near as good as this and took many minutes to calculate simple splits, theirs does not. TrainSplit V1 also didn't calculate the most optimal splits either.

TrainSplit have had a 3year+ headstart and in my opinion should alot be further ahead in terms of what they are offering to consumers by now. But what do I know... New entrants to the retailing market should be welcomed and I strongly suspect that there will be some more new entrants to follow.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Anybody else come across someone trying to use/ or used TrainPal?

I have, customer came in to collect TOD tickets. Number he had generated a Booking that was unable to be ticketed. Came up with "Evolvi Corporate" on the screen but he has his confirmation printed out from TrainPal. The customer then tried to phone them and was given the run around, I issued them new tickets (and split them so they paid less than they had to TrainPal anyway). The customer spent about 25 minutes on mobile phone to what looked like a premium number and eventually got through to someone who said they would refund him minus a £10 admin fee and it would take two weeks.

 

[TrainPal]

Anybody else come across someone trying to use/ or used TrainPal?

I have, customer came in to collect TOD tickets. Number he had generated a Booking that was unable to be ticketed. Came up with "Evolvi Corporate" on the screen but he has his confirmation printed out from TrainPal. The customer then tried to phone them and was given the run around, I issued them new tickets (and split them so they paid less than they had to TrainPal anyway). The customer spent about 25 minutes on mobile phone to what looked like a premium number and eventually got through to someone who said they would refund him minus a £10 admin fee and it would take two weeks.

Dear Gareth, we are really sorry for the bad experience. After checking the email and call record, we did find one case that a customer was unable to print tickets. However we have applied full refund for him instead of charging any admin fee. We would appreciate it if you can provide us with the booking reference or email, then we will be able to check the customer's case. Thanks very much! I can promise that TrainPal never charges any extra fee if the ticketing problem is caused by our booking system.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Dear Gareth, we are really sorry for the bad experience. After checking the email and call record, we did find one case that a customer was unable to print tickets. However we have applied full refund for him instead of charging any admin fee. We would appreciate it if you can provide us with the booking reference or email, then we will be able to check the customer's case. Thanks very much! I can promise that TrainPal never charges any extra fee if the ticketing problem is caused by our booking system.

Thank you however I do not have any details as it was such a long time ago (6 months!) and i doubt the customer (if i see them) has either.

 

[TrainPal]

Thank you however I do not have any details as it was such a long time ago (6 months!) and i doubt the customer (if i see them) has either.

Dear Gareth, thanks for your information. If you see him in future, please let him contact us. We will do as much as we can to figure out the whole case. This is really important to us. Thanks again.

 

[oddiesjack]

Hello Trainpal,

Just noticed this thread, so thought I'd download your app and test it out on a journey I am about to make:
Chinley to Annan Return with a senior railcard.
Out around 9.00, and back around 18:00, both on Nov 27th. Your app returns a price of £42.05, whereas I can get the same journey for around £28.00 elsewhere, so it looks like your app still needs a few tweaks.

 

[TrainPal]

Hello Trainpal,

Just noticed this thread, so thought I'd download your app and test it out on a journey I am about to make:
Chinley to Annan Return with a senior railcard.
Out around 9.00, and back around 18:00, both on Nov 27th. Your app returns a price of £42.05, whereas I can get the same journey for around £28.00 elsewhere, so it looks like your app still needs a few tweaks.

Dear customer,

Thanks for the information. The fare £28.00 that you searched are split tickets. However as a baby app less than 1 year old, TrainPal is still optimizing the splitting technology. We admit that some routes are still unable to split, but we will do as much as we can to improve it soon. We are sorry for letting you down this time.

 

[142blue]

So how does someone telephone TrainPal then

Asking on someones behalf who have had issues with their tickets and can not find a phone number but can get an email or twitter contact

For me that is incredibly poor and I would never use this app for that purpose

 

[Lrd]

So how does someone telephone TrainPal then

Asking on someones behalf who have had issues with their tickets and can not find a phone number but can get an email or twitter contact

For me that is incredibly poor and I would never use this app for that purpose

+44 808 196 9996

As found on their website here...

https://www.thetrainpal.com/web/faqs.html

 

[TrainPal]

+44 808 196 9996

As found on their website here...

https://www.thetrainpal.com/web/faqs.html

Dear customer，

We are sorry for the inconvenience since the website is not used for booking tickets. We will improve this part based on your suggestion. If you have any issues with the tickets, please call +44 808 196 9996. It is free for 7*24h. Actually you can contact us via the app easily. Please see the attached image.

Best regards,
TrainPal

 

[ikonos]

Just tried to use the app as it was promising £5 voucher off tickets over £20. Took ages to then say 'Payment was unsuccessful' but now the voucher is shown as being used and is no longer available. Very fishy...

 

[142blue]

Stick with reputable sites

 

[BigCj34]

Only used it for the discounts they sometimes offer otherwise I buy from whoever is offering good cashback. Anyway haven't had any problems so far but they should at least employ an English speaker who is a bit au fait with British railway terminology. Just got a £5 voucher that says valid for purchases up to £40, when it actually means the cost has to exceed £40.