Before my last trip to the UK, my colleagues pointed me to the website www.thetrainline.com for cheap train tickets, and they were! It was 16.50 Pounds from Manchester to Hull for a one way ticket, about half if bought on the day of departure. It was easy and slick to pick up the tickets from the self service machines using the same cc I bought with on-line.
Enjoy!
Posted by
Bromley, Kent,, UK
1829 posts
The train operating companies (TOCs) sell each others tickets. If you book far enough in advance you will get good deals. Unlike agencies they do not add any charges to the ticket price.
However, if you are not sure which company to use or whether there is a cheaper alternative company or route to the same place, use the National Rail Enquiries site for your initial enquiry. It will direct you to the relevant TOC once you have decided which ticket to buy.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2804 posts
Jerry, it's not the website that made them cheap, it's the time frame from departure. If you buy them
thirty days in advance they would be cheaper then if you waited and bought them 10 days in advance, and they would be more if bought on the day of departure.
Posted by
OP
winston salem, nc, usa
1078 posts
I bought them 9 days in advance, and saved 50%.
Posted by
Bromley, Kent,, UK
1829 posts
Perhaps the answer is to check more than one website. Ticket prices, despite being simplified (?) recently, are not straightforward. For example, in some circumstances it can be cheaper to buy two one-way tickets than a round trip ticket, cheaper tickets can be bought on the day if you travel at certain times and there are often very cheap promotional fares etc etc.
Discounted fares of half price can be found up to a couple of days before travel if there are seats still available. For fares with bigger discounts you need to book much earlier as they sell out fast.