I'm getting ready to book the train

Probably OK -- but have no idea what VAP from Virginia is???? Did you look on the national rail site for UK?

Sorry to be confusing - VAP, Virginia is the person on this site who gave me the Virgin East information.

It is hard to answer questions with out information. I was assuming that VAP was travel agent with Virgin. What web site are you using? If you are on the Virgin East Coast web site you probably are getting the best price. You might double check by using nationalrail.co.uk. That lists all the trains in GB.

Hold off for maybe a few days as I don’t think that all the fares are yet loaded for Friday 1 September. On the Virgin site, I am getting £16 for the 9.08 & £22 for the 11.08. These trains take 2 hours 22 minutes to reach York from KGX. The faster trains - which can do it in 1 hour 50 minutes are at higher prices. However, 2 other companies also run between King’s Cross and York = Hull Trains & Grand Central - whose fares are not yet on the system for 1st September.

If you look at www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk - you will see a white background for those dates where the cheaper fares are currently loaded. As of now, 1 September has a grey background indicating that the cheap advance fares are not yet loaded. (Even though Cross Country don’t operate the route, bookings can be made with them for any company and they don’t charge a £10 fee if later you have to amend your booking - but they would add on any price increase).

Sharon, it is very confusing to know if you are getting the best discount fares, and when they become available. Hopefully some of the Brit experts will give a hand. I looked at the Virgin East site and saw fares for that train and that date at £44 for two people (single which means one-way to us), so I'm not sure what you're seeing.

(edit) See James' post above.

The way to know you are getting the cheapest fares is to look at what type of fare it is.

The very cheapest fares are Advance Singles (Advance is the name of the ticket type, not just meaning "bought in advance.")

When you see Advance Singles for the journey you want to make, that's when to buy them - but you MUST use them on the allocated train, and if you miss that train your ticket will have absolutely no validity on another train (you'd need to buy a full-price ticket).

The next cheapest are likely to be off-peak Singles or returns (round trip). These are usuable in any train during a particular time period.

In the event that a train is cancelled, you have the right - even with a pre-booked ticket for the cancelled train - to use the next available service. Usually you can do this even if it is with another company as the train companies are obligated to help ‘stranded’ passengers.

I am always surprised at the concern that visitors have to book their trains as early as possible to secure the lowest possible price. There is inevitably a trade-off between locking yourself into a particular schedule, and travelling economically, but sometimes the balance seems to be all wrong.

For example, I have been checking for trains from Kings Cross to York next Tuesday, 13th June, and for Tuesdays in July and August. Tickets for the 09.08 train next Tuesday cost £22, and those for Tuesdays in July and August cost £16. Those prices are significantly less than the prices for other trains that morning, although the journey on the 09.08 is longer because it stops more often. There will be no difference in comfort or other aspects of the service.

Tickets get dearer as the day of the journey approaches, and some types of ticket may sell out. But that doesn't happen for this sort of journey at this time of day. Don't panic about this. Get the rest of your plans settled, and when you think no further changes are likely, then book your train tickets. If you miscalculate and arrive ten minutes late at your hotel, there are no financial consequences. If you do the same with a train, you have to buy a new ticket.

Just so we are all clear...

<--- I'm VAP from Virginia.

And I originally suggested that Sharon should buy direct from Virgin East Coast. And at the time of the original post the 11:08 train was £16. It has since gone up to £22

Sharon, the fare you looking at that is £40 (£80 for 2) advance single first class fare. You're wanting the advance standard fare, which is £22. There should be a way to toggle between the fares. On my Android the site shows a "+" with "show other fares".