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Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

Making your money go further
Itsallaguess
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Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#276781

Postby Itsallaguess » January 11th, 2020, 8:22 pm

Hopefully this might be useful information for anyone hoping to save money on some longer train journeys -

Thousands of passengers could save money on rail fares as "split tickets" become more common, experts predict.

Buying multiple tickets to split one journey into sections can work out to be cheaper than having a single ticket.

Users do not have to change trains, as long as their train stops at the final destination printed on each ticket - but the practice has been "niche".

Booking site Trainline has now released a SplitSave tool to help find cheaper journeys by splitting trips into legs.

"Split tickets" are legal provided that trains stop at ticket destinations.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51077807

And here's a link to the Trainline 'Split Save' tool, available for iOS or Android platforms -

If you’re looking for a way to save money when travelling by train, you’ve come to the right place! Splitting your train tickets with SplitSave, our new split-ticketing app feature, can be much cheaper than buying a single ticket if you’re travelling on a long journey.

Intrigued?

Read on for more details about how SplitSave can help you save a pretty penny or two.


https://www.thetrainline.com/trains/great-britain/split-tickets

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

tjh290633
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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#276785

Postby tjh290633 » January 11th, 2020, 9:01 pm

I wonder how they treat crossing London. It is usually cheaper to buy a travelcard plus an extension from the boundary of Zone 6 to the destination, compared with an off peak day return to the destination. For example, travelling from Hassocks to Colchester is an off peak day return costing £48.30 without a Railcard on a Sunday.

The alternative of buying a ticket from Hassocks to Zone 6 and a day return from the boundary station (Harold Wood) to Colchester is £21.40 for the latter, plus about £20 for the Travelcard. A saving of about £10. I can't find the Travelcard price at the moment, as Sunday prices are different from what I usually buy.

I suspect that this option may not be available.

TJH

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#276799

Postby Lanark » January 11th, 2020, 11:09 pm

trainsplit.com have been around for a while and are pretty good.

I think it's a bit risky for long journeys where you have to change trains, if you get delayed you can miss the second train and the split ticket wont be valid for a later train.

I dont understand why they dont just work out a fixed price per mile, which would make all this complexity disappear.

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#276800

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 11th, 2020, 11:32 pm

I've been ticket splitting for years- it saved me a huge amount on Slough<>Kidderminster splitting at (IIRC) Hanborough
You just have to make sure the train stops at the split station (no, you don't have to get off and on again..)

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#276852

Postby AJC5001 » January 12th, 2020, 2:12 pm

tjh290633 wrote:The alternative of buying a ticket from Hassocks to Zone 6 and a day return from the boundary station (Harold Wood) to Colchester is £21.40 for the latter, plus about £20 for the Travelcard. A saving of about £10. I can't find the Travelcard price at the moment, as Sunday prices are different from what I usually buy.

TJH


How does using an Oyster or other card work when travelling into the London zones from outside? What affect does it have if you only swipe out at your destination on arrival and then back in again on returning?

Adrian

tjh290633
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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#276858

Postby tjh290633 » January 12th, 2020, 2:55 pm

AJC5001 wrote:
tjh290633 wrote:The alternative of buying a ticket from Hassocks to Zone 6 and a day return from the boundary station (Harold Wood) to Colchester is £21.40 for the latter, plus about £20 for the Travelcard. A saving of about £10. I can't find the Travelcard price at the moment, as Sunday prices are different from what I usually buy.

TJH


How does using an Oyster or other card work when travelling into the London zones from outside? What affect does it have if you only swipe out at your destination on arrival and then back in again on returning?

Adrian

Not being an Oyster card user, I don't know. The recent extensions outside zone 6, like Reading and Shenfield, may give a clue. I understand that it has always been possible to buy a ticket from the boundary station to your destination, without the train having to stop at that station. Likewise an inbound day Travelcard is combining a cheap day return to, say, Coulsdon South with a one day Ticket for Zones 1 to 6. I imagine that not touching out with Oyster means that you pay the capped one day fare, which is the same thing.

Likewise if you use a contactless card to enter the system and do not tap out, you are charged the capped one day fare.

Perhaps an Oyster card user can enlighten us.

TJH

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#276883

Postby tjh290633 » January 12th, 2020, 5:14 pm

I just checked. Travelcard from Hassocks is £14.50 on Thameslink, £18.70m on Southern. That's the Sunday price. £22.40 on Monday.

TJH

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#276998

Postby pochisoldi » January 13th, 2020, 10:37 am

tjh290633 wrote:I just checked. Travelcard from Hassocks is £14.50 on Thameslink, £18.70m on Southern. That's the Sunday price. £22.40 on Monday.

TJH


Note that for that journey, the Thameslink vs Southern decision only applies to the Hassocks-"Boundary zone 6" part of the journey.
Once you are "in the zones", you can change onto any service.
That means for a Hassocks Travelcard (route Southern) you have to get a Southern service to East Croydon, but there is nothing to stop you changing to a Thameslink service to get you to London Bridge.
Similarly, when travelling home on a Hassocks Travelcard (route Thameslink), there is nothing to stop you getting a Southern service to East Croydon, as long as you change to a Thameslink service to get you back to Hassocks.

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#277028

Postby tjh290633 » January 13th, 2020, 12:01 pm

pochisoldi wrote:
tjh290633 wrote:I just checked. Travelcard from Hassocks is £14.50 on Thameslink, £18.70m on Southern. That's the Sunday price. £22.40 on Monday.

TJH


Note that for that journey, the Thameslink vs Southern decision only applies to the Hassocks-"Boundary zone 6" part of the journey.
Once you are "in the zones", you can change onto any service.
That means for a Hassocks Travelcard (route Southern) you have to get a Southern service to East Croydon, but there is nothing to stop you changing to a Thameslink service to get you to London Bridge.
Similarly, when travelling home on a Hassocks Travelcard (route Thameslink), there is nothing to stop you getting a Southern service to East Croydon, as long as you change to a Thameslink service to get you back to Hassocks.

Thank you, I know that. One is Thameslink Only, the other is Not Gatwick Express. BTDTGTTS.

TJH

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#277249

Postby AF62 » January 14th, 2020, 9:02 am

Lanark wrote:I think it's a bit risky for long journeys where you have to change trains, if you get delayed you can miss the second train and the split ticket wont be valid for a later train.


If the first train is delayed causing you to miss the second train, your ticket is still valid as you have bought two tickets for one journey, not two tickets for two journeys.

National Rail Conditions of Travel - section 14 (https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/National ... Travel.pdf)

14.1. Unless shown below, you may use a combination of two or more Tickets to make a journey provided that the train services you use call at the station(s) where you change from one Ticket to another.

However you might have to explain this to the rail staff who still have a nationalised industry jobsworth attitude and behave like they are doing you a favour rather than being a paying customer.

Lanark wrote:I dont understand why they dont just work out a fixed price per mile, which would make all this complexity disappear.


Because then lots of journeys would become ridiculously expensive -
- Alexandra Palace to Kings Cross - 4.7 miles costs £4.70 for a single
- Aberdeen to Kings Cross - 531 miles costs £187, so using the Alexandra Palace price as the base that should rise to £531, or alternatively you could cut the price of the Alexandra Palace journey to £1.65.

However that is based on Anytime fares and you can get Aberdeen to Kings Cross for as low as £48.50, so you either increase the Aberdeen fare tenfold or you price the Alexandra Palace journey at 43p.

Option 1 has riots in Scotland and option 2 has London celebrating its effectively free fares.

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#277260

Postby Alaric » January 14th, 2020, 9:21 am

AF62 wrote:If the first train is delayed causing you to miss the second train, your ticket is still valid as you have bought two tickets for one journey, not two tickets for two journeys.


You can have a problem if there are two or more operators on a route. If your original ticket was with operator A, you may be expected to wait until the next train by operator A, even if there are earlier trains by operators B and C.

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#277278

Postby AF62 » January 14th, 2020, 10:00 am

Alaric wrote:
AF62 wrote:If the first train is delayed causing you to miss the second train, your ticket is still valid as you have bought two tickets for one journey, not two tickets for two journeys.


You can have a problem if there are two or more operators on a route. If your original ticket was with operator A, you may be expected to wait until the next train by operator A, even if there are earlier trains by operators B and C.


Of course, but then you have paid for a ticket sold by operator A and not B or C - although in times of disruption the disrupted operator often reaches an agreement with the other operators for 'ticket acceptance'. Even if not, it is worth approaching the station staff to see if they will authorise your ticket for B or C - but be prepared for the jobsworth attitude.

However the key point was if you have one ticket from X to Y on operator A, arriving at say 1pm to change for a 1.30 departure and a separate timed Advance ticket from Y to Z with operator B, but A is late and you miss B's train, then B cannot say 'tough' you need to buy a new ticket, as your two tickets cover the one journey from X to Z and B needs to get you to Z even though you missed your booked train (although any Delay Repay claim is with A).

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#277287

Postby JohnB » January 14th, 2020, 10:25 am

Tip for anyone not familiar with London fare anomalies. National Rail fares quoted for journeys in London are higher than the TfL Oyster/contactless fares for the same train. Alexandra Palace to Kings Cross is £3.80 peak, £2.90 off peak for example, cf £4.70 for NR.

Orpington to London Bridge (out to Zone 6 boundary, £7.60 NR at all times, Oyster/contactless £6.80/4.20), and bizarrely crossing to Kings Cross via Thameslink costs no more, while it would be £1.50 extra via the the Tube.

Conversely a ticket from a suburban station to a city the other side of London can be little more than the cost from the London terminus.

So its always worth checking. And yes I'd much rather these anomalies were removed by legislation that required the cheapest fare to be always calculated.

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#277611

Postby UncleEbenezer » January 15th, 2020, 1:13 pm

JohnB wrote:Tip for anyone not familiar with London fare anomalies. National Rail fares quoted for journeys in London are higher than the TfL Oyster/contactless fares for the same train. Alexandra Palace to Kings Cross is £3.80 peak, £2.90 off peak for example, cf £4.70 for NR.

As someone who only very occasionally travels to or across London, I've long been vaguely aware that your Oyster may be cheaper than fares I sometimes pay. But when I asked about getting an oyster it seemed more trouble than it's worth, not least because I'd end up forgetting it next time I came to London.

Is that now out-of-date? Can one get Oyster without a physical card - e.g. by tying it to ones phone and/or regular credit/debit card?

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#277613

Postby Alaric » January 15th, 2020, 1:17 pm

UncleEbenezer wrote:Is that now out-of-date? Can one get Oyster without a physical card - e.g. by tying it to ones phone and/or regular credit/debit card?


Payment gates at London area stations now accept a contactless card. A disadvantage is that if you hold a Railcard, you don't get any discounts. It doesn't have to be registered, but if it is, you can view histories and it would support caps on daily and weekly usage.

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#283408

Postby stewamax » February 10th, 2020, 11:30 am

UncleEbenezer wrote:Is that now out-of-date?

The original Oyster cards still work. Mine was acquired in 2004 and is still OK

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#605577

Postby XFool » July 29th, 2023, 6:03 pm

By the cringe!

A few of us had the idea of having a day out at the seaside (like we used to do...). But I was runninbg a car then, now some of us will need to go by train. Remember them? I thought I did too.

So how much does it cost, like? Well... £6 each way (that's cheap!). Or... a cheap one way ticket is £62.50, or £84.50, or £143 or? Is this a ticket machine I see before me, or a random number generator?

Looks like I may need to buy a new car. Or perhaps a day return flight to Paris would be cheaper?

Not having been on a mainline train for some years, I had no idea...

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#605580

Postby Lootman » July 29th, 2023, 6:11 pm

XFool wrote:By the cringe!

A few of us had the idea of having a day out at the seaside (like we used to do...). But I was runninbg a car then, now some of us will need to go by train. Remember them? I thought I did too.

So how much does it cost, like? Well... £6 each way (that's cheap!). Or... a cheap one way ticket is £62.50, or £84.50, or £143 or? Is this a ticket machine I see before me, or a random number generator?

Looks like I may need to buy a new car. Or perhaps a day return flight to Paris would be cheaper?

Not having been on a mainline train for some years, I had no idea...

I do trains a lot, from London to Exeter and other cities. I almost always just buy an off-peak return or super off-peak return, as you have a lot of flexibility on days and times - from same day to one month. And you can break your journey which I sometimes do to see my son in Bristol.

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#605582

Postby Spet0789 » July 29th, 2023, 6:14 pm

AJC5001 wrote:
tjh290633 wrote:The alternative of buying a ticket from Hassocks to Zone 6 and a day return from the boundary station (Harold Wood) to Colchester is £21.40 for the latter, plus about £20 for the Travelcard. A saving of about £10. I can't find the Travelcard price at the moment, as Sunday prices are different from what I usually buy.

TJH


How does using an Oyster or other card work when travelling into the London zones from outside? What affect does it have if you only swipe out at your destination on arrival and then back in again on returning?

Adrian


It won’t work. You’d have to get off the train and tap. The post referred to a travel card which is a paper ticket.

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Re: Train tickets - split tickets go mainstream....

#605583

Postby XFool » July 29th, 2023, 6:31 pm

Lootman wrote:
XFool wrote:A few of us had the idea of having a day out at the seaside (like we used to do...). But I was runninbg a car then, now some of us will need to go by train. Remember them? I thought I did too.

So how much does it cost, like? Well... £6 each way (that's cheap!). Or... a cheap one way ticket is £62.50, or £84.50, or £143 or? Is this a ticket machine I see before me, or a random number generator?

I do trains a lot, from London to Exeter and other cities. I almost always just buy an off-peak return or super off-peak return, as you have a lot of flexibility on days and times - from same day to one month. And you can break your journey which I sometimes do to see my son in Bristol.

This sort of thing irritates the **** out of me. I preferred the old fashioned way. There was a definite price for something: Then I could ask what it is and decide whether I wished to pay for it or not.

I never voted to become an options trader just to buy an ****** train ticket, or somesuch.


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