The Trainline

Posted by ayla (Seattle) on 04/26/08 01:14 PM

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has used a site called The Trainline to book train tickets and if so what kind of experience have they had?

I've been looking at current train fares from London to Edinburgh to try and project how much I might be looking at paying for my trip in early September and have largely been finding them to be quite high (100+ pounds) with no 2nd class fares, but this site is listing fares for significantly less (15ish pounds).

I was just wondering if anyone has had any experiences with this site, or knows anything about it. Thanks!

Posted by Norm

Ottawa, Canada

04/26/08 01:30 PM

4555 posts

The Trainline uses the same search engine that companies like National Rail and the rail lines across Britain use for internet bookings, so they're a good deal. They're probably your best bet, if there are no problems with booking with an address from outsid the UK. Where else where you looking at train fares? If it's somewhere like RailEurope, then that's why....they only list a few trains, and don't always offer the deals you can find on locally-based rail network websites.

Posted by Tim

Minneapolis, MN, USA

04/26/08 02:21 PM

8700 posts

Walk-up fares for long distance trains in the UK are very expensive. (As you've seen, they can be over £100.) The advantage to booking online in advance is to get discount fares (like the £15 one you found). The Trainline charges a fee for booking using a credit card. If you book on a train company's own Web site, there is no fee. However, as Norm has indicated, it can be hard to register on those sites if you live outside the UK.

Besides day trains, you can take the Caledonian Sleeper overnight from London to Edinburgh. Bargain Berths can be very cheap. See here: http://tinyurl.com/g9ehd.

If a train company offers discount fares, they usually are posted 60-90 days in advance. Before that all you'll see online are the full-price fares.

Posted by ayla OP

Seattle

04/26/08 02:25 PM

89 posts

Thanks Norm. I had been looking at RailEurope, BritRail, and National Express. I don't know how I missed National Rail--probably mixed it up with National Express. I'll be living with a family in London for five weeks prior to the train journey, so if there's a problem with a US address maybe I can work something out that way. Thanks again, just wanted to make sure it was legit!

Tim, thanks for the info about booking fees; they're not listed immediately on the site so it's good to know there will be some additional cost.