Buying train tickets from The Trainline.com

[PokeyMindy]

Thank you in advance for your help.

I know it's too early yet to get tickets for train travel July 23rd, but looking at other dates (for pricing/schedules) I am finding quite a difference in ticket prices. The "cheapest standard fare" is as low as £15.00! Other prices for trains at different times (same day) range from £112.90-----64.70
That is a significant savings! Is this for real? I know from past experience buying train tickets for Italy that there are indeed great prices for advance sales.

Another question, is there much difference/advantage in going First Class vs Standard?

I'm looking at Birmingham New Street travel to Edinburgh Waverly

Should I feel confident buying tickets directly from https://www.thetrainline.com/ ??

I did sign up with a username and password on their website and also signed up for Ticket Alert.

Thank you for your help!

Mindy

 

[Pauline]

I purchase train tickets in the UK on thetrainline.com. You order and pay online, then pickup your tickets at the station. The one thing you may need to watch out for, is you may have to line up and get your tickets from a person instead of a machine because of your credit card. I think you have to have a UK chip and pin type card to use the machine. Make sure you get a seat reservation when you buy your tickets.

Prices - yes, they are insane here. £10 if you purchase two months ahead, £10,000 if you purchase on the day (joking but not far off). Some lines let you purchase very inexpensive tickets ahead, some don't.

If First Class is not much more, take it! It will be nice on a long train ride. We do this going into London (on @jonathan 's recommendation). It is much less crowded, the seats are much larger. And you get free tea/coffee etc. It always feels more peaceful in the First Class carriages.

Trains here can be very crowded. If you are traveling during the time people are commuting in or out of London, you can end up on packed trains. That is why you want a seat reservation. We have been on trains to London where we were not able to get a reservation (purchased tickets too late) and had to stand for the long ride (extra long because the train broke down and sat in one place for an extra hour).

 

[Pauline]

One other thing - when you get your tickets you get a fist-full of tickets. One for the train, one for the reservation, a receipt - it is all confusing.

 

[PokeyMindy]

thank you Pauline I think First class may be the way for the Smith sisters...it's really not that much more money in comparison to regular priced general seating. £50.00 for First class special price.

Our travel date is July 23rd, Saturday so hopefully not too crowded although with reserved seats, no problem.

Interesting about having to pick up the tickets at the train station. I thought I could print the confirmation with barcode or something similar...like on Trenitalia. Oh well...it will all work out! and yes, we will definitely get a seat reservation!

M

 

[PokeyMindy]

one other question I thought of...if we do have to pick up our tickets; can that be done any day beforehand? If we have time in London then would we be able to get the tickets at the train station near our B&B? or can you only get them the day of travel?

Thank you!

M

 

[Callie]

Be sure to check to see if you're eligible for any Railcards (railcard.co.uk). We bought one for 30 pounds that is the Two Together card. As long as we travel together, our tickets are 30% discounted. And there is also a discount for the underground and some other goodies. They have to be mailed to a UK address, or you can buy them at the train station. Not sure how that would work with advance tickets, but when I bought ours, I just said I had a railcard. You'll need a photo for some of the railcards too. We recouped our 30 pounds with the first tickets we bought.

Callie

 

[Pauline]

I didn't know about the Two Together card! I know Steve can get a senior's card, but it has to be renewed each year.

With advance tickets you say which card you have and may have to show it on the train - so you can purchase tickets without having the card, but then buy it when you are in the UK before your train journey.

@PokeyMindy you can pick the tickets up ahead of time. And maybe you can print them out now - I haven't bought train tickets in a year, so it may have changed.

 

[Callie]

My British friend suggested we get the senior cards, but in looking into that, I found the Two Together card. She had never heard of it either. But for 1/2 the price, it works for us.

Callie

 

[SusanSeattle]

I bought several different tickets for UK train travel last year. I was able to print some tickets at home but not all. I think it depended on the train company. I think the journey you are looking at is run by Virgin. You might want to register at their site. Sometimes they will send out discount codes. Also, when you search for tickets, look for this at the bottom of the search page "Results are based on end-to-end tickets for the fastest available trains. Click here to check if slower routes with cheaper tickets are available." Sometimes this will show you much cheaper tickets for the same or similar journey times.
I went through Birmingham New Street a couple of times. The station is being 'refurbished' which for me meant that some escalators were out of service & my walk to the track I needed was much longer than usual. Just something to keep in mind.

And yes, you can pick up your tickets earlier in London if you'd like.

 

[Pauline]

This page on trainline.com says yes you can pick them up from any station, any time after you purchase and before your train.

That is a good suggestion @SusanSeattle to check with the train company website.

Trains are confusing here. They are privatized (which makes me angry just to think about) so there are several companies involved, but usually each route is serviced by only one company. I only know the Great Western trains from Stroud to London. I will soon learn about the trains from Dorchester! Trainline.com lets you buy from any train company. Someone once suggested that the Network Rail website was also good to use for buying tickets.

 

[Callie]

Pauline, when we go to Somerset, we buy directly from Great Western. Not sure if prices are different with other sites. My friend who lives in Somerset told me to do that, so I'm guessing she finds some advantage to it, but I have no idea what that might be.

Callie

 

[jonathan]

I do happen to know, @Pauline , that you are eligible for a Senior Railcard as well

 

[Callie]

Just barely, I'm sure.

 

[Pauline]

I do happen to know, @Pauline , that you are eligible for a Senior Railcard as well

Is it 60? Then, yes I am (@Callie is right - just barely). We also get a discount now on our National Trust membership. The joys of growing old.

 

[Chris]

And you will be a year older tomorrow, won't you?

 

[Pauline]

Yes, another year older tomorrow. Yikes!!

When we moved to England Steve was able to get a free bus pass because he was over 60. Now that I am over 60, they have changed the rules and I won't get a bus pass until I am 66!!

Here is the info from the UK Government website:
Apply for an older person's bus pass
In England you can get a bus pass for free travel when you reach the female State Pension age, whether you’re a man or a woman.
If you live in London, you can travel free on buses, tubes and other transport when you’re 60, but only within London.

The female state pension age for my birthday is 66 years.

I won't get a state pension because you have to work here for 30 years (I will get a pension from the US). But that bus pass is valuable! We like to do walks where we walk out and take the bus back. In the Cotswolds we could only do this in a few places. In Dorset we can use the bus when walking the Coast Path. One bus runs from Exeter to Poole, along the coast (the Jurassic Coaster).

 

[Callie]

Can you get a bus pass if you're not a resident? If so, any idea how?

Callie

 

[Pauline]

You have to be a resident to get a bus pass. I know that Steve was not a citizen yet when he got one but he had to show his UK driving license (which is odd because he was getting a BUS pass).

This is the page about them:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-elderly-person-bus-pass
(Notice the page heading says older person but the URL says elderly. Nice.)

Each county has its own page about them. This is the one for Dorset:
https://www.dorsetforyou.com/travel-dorset/bus/national-bus-pass-concessionary-travel

 

[Callie]

So no bus passes for us. Apparently our Two Together pass gives some discount on the underground. Not sure how it works yet, but will find out.

 

[PokeyMindy]

Hi all! I wanted to let you know that I bought tickets 12 weeks in advance for my sister trip to the Cotswolds and Edinburgh. I signed up for an alert through https://www.thetrainline.com/ so I would know when the cheap seats were available. True to their word, I was able to buy our London(Paddington) to Moreton-in-Marsh and then Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh for A GREAT PRICE! Serious savings. I used Pay Pal. I opted to pick up the tickets from the self serve ticket machine rather than print them at home. (with my luck my printer would explode and I wouldn't be able to reprint the tickets, LOL).

I found the experience very easy and I'm keeping my bagpipes crossed that picking them up when we arrive in London won't be a problem!

I'm getting excited! Departure date is July 13th....flying Boston-London on Aer Lingus. Changing planes in Dublin....best fare and connection I could find.

Mindy