York - Blackpool

[bennorthyork]

Please can someone tell me the cheapest way of going from York to Blackpool first class on a Saturday via Manchester for 1 adult and no railcard? Also can I use the first class ticket in the first class lounge and Manchester Piccadilly?

 

[clagmonster]

A first open return is £92, and would give access to first class lounges.
First class advance singles start at £9 York-Manchester, £6 Manchester-Blackpool, so that would come to £30 return minimum. For these, you need to book as far in advace as possible (tickets go on sale around 12 weeks in advance), and travel only on the specified train. These would not give access to first class lounges.
Alterntively you could buy a £39.60 saver return, then a £6 weekend first upgrade in each direction, coming to £51.60.

 

[Max]

Single or return? And what date? I'm a bit limited as to what I can suggest without any further input.

The cheapest option looks as if it could be 2 advance singles (York-Manchester, Manchester-Blackpool), which could work out as cheaply as £11.50 one way depending on what time you travel. Then, on top of this, Transpennine Express do a £6 weekend first upgrade payable to the guard on the train, which is available between any two TPE served stations.

You will not be allowed to use the lounge at Piccadilly, as Virgin states that to get in you must have a "valid Virgin Business, First Open or Advance First ticket".

 

[voyagerdude220]

The cheapest option looks as if it could be 2 advance singles (York-Manchester, Manchester-Blackpool), which could work out as cheaply as £11.50 one way depending on what time you travel. Then, on top of this, Transpennine Express do a £6 weekend first upgrade payable to the guard on the train, which is available between any two TPE served stations.

Is the TPE weekend first upgrade valid in conjunction with a SC AP single?

 

[ashworth]

I don't want to appear to be critisizing here but I am just interested to know why anyone would want to pay high prices for 1st Class tickets on a cross country route like York to Blackpool?

If you can manage to get some cheap AP 1st Class tickets by splitting the tickets at Manchester good luck to you. I would probably consider doing the same thing.
I must admit that when I travel on intercity routes like going down to London from Nottingham I usually travel 1st class if I can get cheap AP tickets but they would have to be very cheap before I would consider using them for a journey like York-Blackpool.

Just my own views!

 

[Max]

Is the TPE weekend first upgrade valid in conjunction with a SC AP single?

I can't find anything suggesting that it isn't! On the NR website, it specifically states TOCs where APs are excluded from weekend first, and there is nothing for TPE suggesting this.

I don't want to appear to be critisizing here but I am just interested to know why anyone would want to pay high prices for 1st Class tickets on a cross country route like York to Blackpool?

If you can manage to get some cheap AP 1st Class tickets by splitting the tickets at Manchester good luck to you. I would probably consider doing the same thing.
I must admit that when I travel on intercity routes like going down to London from Nottingham I usually travel 1st class if I can get cheap AP tickets but they would have to be very cheap before I would consider using them for a journey like York-Blackpool.

Just my own views!

I would say £6 to upgrade for a 2 and a half hour journey is very reasonable! The first class seats on 185s are vastly superior to standard, and if there is a trolley on board you should even get some free refreshments.

 

[yorkie]

What I find odd is that no upgrade seems to be available for TPEs off peak services, particularly late at night when there are few passengers. Consequently apart from peak times, FC is often empty on weekdays.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Which is great news for people like myself who can book specific trains, and grab a bargain in FC, and enjoy having a whole 4-seat table to myself for the whole journey. I've even had the whole carriage to myself between Bolton and Manchester, whilst Standard was full & standing.

 

[clagmonster]

I think a lot of this is down to the huge difference in price at off-peak times. Just taking a random example, a first open return York-Manchester is £62, yet the saver is only £22.80, only a little more than 1/3 of the price. If a first class saver was introduced, at say £34.20 (1.5 times the cost of the saver, this could very well see an increase in the number of first class passengers.

 

[yorkie]

Which is great news for people like myself who can book specific trains, and grab a bargain in FC, and enjoy having a whole 4-seat table to myself for the whole journey. I've even had the whole carriage to myself between Bolton and Manchester, whilst Standard was full & standing.

But that's not a good use of capacity is it?

 

[voyagerdude220]

Nope.

I fully agree that TPE should look at their fare system, in regard to the cost of upgrading to FC on weekdays during off-peak periods.

 

[yorkie]

You will not be allowed to use the lounge at Piccadilly, as Virgin states that to get in you must have a "valid Virgin Business, First Open or Advance First ticket".

Do they really refuse First Day?

BTW, in places served by First buses, a First Day is a rover ticket!

 

[John @ home]

What I find odd is that no upgrade seems to be available for TPEs off peak services, particularly late at night when there are few passengers. Consequently apart from peak times, FC is often empty on weekdays.

Every First Class seat was taken leaving Manchester Piccadilly on the 1216 Edinburgh service yesterday, and this remained so until and beyond Preston where I got off. It seems that TPE are happy to sell Advance tickets for all their First Class seats on some services, the only TOC I have encountered which does this.

 

[Max]

Every First Class seat was taken leaving Manchester Piccadilly on the 1216 Edinburgh service yesterday, and this remained so until and beyond Preston where I got off. It seems that TPE are happy to sell Advance tickets for all their First Class seats on some services, the only TOC I have encountered which does this.

I would have expected uptake to be high on Scottish services though. It seems to be much poorer on North and South Transpennine.