do cheap train tickets exist?

Question

i complained about the increase in cost of my train ticket from cardiff to portsmouth, and the guy told me that if i book in advance it would be up to 75% cheaper, so i looked at trains in december and it was the same price as if i were to go today. Do these cheap tickets actually exist, has anyone ever found one? or is it just a complete lie by the train companys

Answer 1

Yes they do - visit. www.qjump.co.uk
If you book in advance you can go pretty much anywhere in the uk for minimum £18 return. Make sure you book two singles though. Good Luck

Answer 2

Cheap Train Tickets To Portsmouth

Answer 3

Simple answer is yes but most rail companies now operate like airlines. When there is heavy demand, for example bank holidays, football matches the price stays high. In general if you book in advance for a long journey you can get good prices. I've booked Gatwick to Cheltenham for £7, Birmingham to London for £10. The trick is to a) plan ahead and b) look on the website for the train company which covers the largest part of your journey. Be prepared to break journies up into smaller segments and get separate tickets for each one. For example Birmingham to Newcastle is about £20 cheaper with cheap day returns for each stage of the route. Most cheap tickets come with the condition that you have to travel on a specified train and there are heavy penalties for changing your requirements.

Answer 4

As far as I can tell cheap fares don't exist. They say you can save up to x% but I never seen them. Durham to Carmarthen even 12 weeks ahead still costs £165 single, an off peak return within a month is £165.40 These prices are anything but cheap.

Get the coach, way much cheaper but it takes longer. Trouble is if you got a dog your only option is the train.

Answer 5

Yes you can get cheap train tickets, it just depends on the time of day you are traveling but you do need to book in advance. Check on the trainline.co.uk or go to your local booking office where they will be able to search for the cheap tickets for you too. There are also railcards which you may qualify for depending on your circumstances, a young person's railcard (if your between 16-25) or a senior's railcard (over 60).

Answer 6

Phone them up several times and check on internet, you will get offered a different price each time, keep doing it til you get a reasonable price.

Some of those cheap tickets do seem to be non-existent (Leeds -> Glasgow in my experience) while there are some you can get (London - Leeds) but it has to be about 2 weeks in advance.

Answer 7

I found one about a year ago and it reduced my cost from £145 to about £46 but i had to phone every day for about 2 weeks to get the advance tickets as they only release them at certain times. Good luck!!

Answer 8

Yes they do exist. The train companies have to provide cheap fares (Apex or Cheap Day Returns depending on route) as part of their licence. Your route would be the Apex fares where you have to book in advance. You have to buy before they are sold out.

Answer 9

Saw a prog and the best way is to get single ticket to part of your destination then another for the rest of the way, can't remember all the tricks but give it a thought using train timetable,on and off peak.

Answer 10

Yep, I can get return Sheffield to London return first class from as little as 40 quid if I book in advance. If I leave it to the day it costs me (well, my employers) about 150 quid.....