I just purchased one way tickets from Liverpool to Euston London. They are for July and only cost 16.00 p for two people. Is this for real or did I just shoot myself in the foot? The early tip said you can save 215 p by purchasing early and picking up the tickets there at the station machines. If I did this all correctly and didn't mess up, that's an incredible savings. Any comments or laughter?
Second question: I bought the tickets through www.thetrainline.com and noted on my seat selection that we wanted the table seating. My ticket reservation says Coach C. Would that be a table or am I back in the luggage with the Beatles playing cards?
Third and last: Do the Zone 1,2 Travelcards work for a 24 hour period or just a specific number of usages?
Thanks, Karen
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Your ticket is for real. While walk-up fares for long distance train travel in the UK are very expensive, advance purchase discount fares can be very cheap. FYI, if you had booked through nationalexpresseastcoast.com rather than thetrainline.com, there would have been no booking fee.
An off-peak, zone 1-2 travelcard is good Monday to Friday for journeys that start after 09:30 that day until before 04:30 the following day. For Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays the card is good from 04:30 one day until before 04:30 the following day.
Travelcards give you unlimited rides during their validity period. An anytime travelcard is good from 04:30 one day until before 04:30 the next day, any day of the week.
Posted by
OP
San Carlos, CA, USA
85 posts
Thanks Tim.
I gather I would pick up my paid for Travelcard at the same ticket machines I get the train tickets from. Am I right?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You're welcome, Karen. When I was in London I bought the kind of travelcard that is sold at tube stations. Since then I've learned a lot about the travelcards sold at National Rail stations, but I don't know if you can retrieve them from the same machines that sell regular train tickets. You probably can, but standing in line at a ticket window will always work.
Posted by
Spokane, Washington, US
50 posts
Hi Karen,
Just be sure to check their train delay policy. My husband and I bought our tickets in advance like you did, we were traveling from London to Edinburgh. Our train was delayed for over two hours. Due to the delay we were entitled to a refund of our full fare, but because we bought them online through nationalrailexpress.com, we were unable to get a refund at the ticket counter at our final destination.
We went in October and I am still working with them on getting our refund.
Have fun! Traveling by train was so nice and so incredibly easy!
Posted by
OP
San Carlos, CA, USA
85 posts
So Jill, did you have to pay the higher price to travel when the delay hit, or did they honor a lower rate?
Posted by
OP
San Carlos, CA, USA
85 posts
Does anyone know anything about my second question on table seating in coach?
Posted by
Yorkshire, UK
264 posts
Karen -
Coach C is the car you are in. Within each coach is a variety of seating. Some "Airplane" style and some "Table" style. The seat number will define which type you get. Normally if you book in advance you will have pretty good success at getting the type you asked for.
Posted by
Hickory, NC USA
487 posts
I am having the same thoughts about tickets I purchased for a train from Stockolm to Oslo for myself and my 11 year old son. 136 SEK which is about $16 for a 6 hour train ride with reserved seats. Seems impossibly low but I figured, if there is something wrong, I'm only out the $16 and I'll just buy tickets on the spot and have a laugh later.
Hope yours are fine too. Great deal!
Posted by
Spokane, Washington, US
50 posts
Karen,
I still paid the lower price for our tickets since I bought them so far in advance. Since we were so delayed it was the train's policy to issue refunds or vouchers for another day's travel. We went to the ticket counter and were turned away since we purchased them online. We found out later the refund form they have at the counter, that we should taken it. Make copies of your tickets and send that all in. I sent in all my copies of emails I have had with NationalRailExpress and they said they would honor my refund. We ended up having to take taxi to our B&B, plus the owners of the B&B waited around for us because we were so late in our arrival, when we said we would be there two hours earlier. It ruined our plans for that night in Edinburgh, but after traveling all day we were happy to go to bed early!
Posted by
Yorkshire, UK
264 posts
Linda - To address your concern. You can never be 100 percent sure but I got some incredible tix booked in advance in Scandanavia.
Posted by
OP
San Carlos, CA, USA
85 posts
Thanks everyone. We're sure to have a great trip, even if we have to walk! =0
Posted by
Liverpool, UK
30 posts
Hi Karen!
You will most probably be travelling on a pendolino Virgin train
You may find the link of the seating plan helpful.
http://virgintrains.elviscommunications.net/temp/pdf/seating-plan.pdf
Gary
Posted by
OP
San Carlos, CA, USA
85 posts
Gary,
Thank you for the link. Yeah! We did get a table seating. The only sad thought is we'll be heading out of your city, and with my husband being a musician, I know we're going to love Liverpool, but with any luck, we'll get into London in enough time to head out to the Royal Albert to catch Jeff Beck.
Thanks again. Karen