Train travel in England-What website to prebook?

[chiaro di Luna]

I am planning a spring trip with flights in/out of LHR, so will spend a few days in London on both ends.
What website/s do you use to pre book train tickets ie: London to Stratford Upon Avon; London to York?
I have not decided exactly where I will go for the 2 weeks.

 

[Ian Sutton]

I've never moved away from nationalrail.co.uk, though I know some people use trainline.co.uk

The best prices are typically if you can book in advance, and ideally avoid peak time trains. Such tickets typically restrict you to travelling on the chosen train(s) / time(s), but the saving is very significant. Have a look for the prices a week ahead from now, which should give you a view on savings & which trains aren't in demand (so the prices stay low).

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Does this sound like something i am looking for?
Journey London Victoria to York
OUT
Tue 01 May 18
Duration 2h 28m 1 change >

Take the Tube from London Victoria to London Kings Cross
12:30
London Kings Cross
Virgin Trains East Coast

2h 2m
14:32
York
Ticket details
Advance Single £19.00
1 Adult(s) Full Fare (£19.00 each)

• Only valid on booked Virgin Trains East Coast services and required connecting services.
• Non-refundable ticket, only valid for the date, time and trains specified.

Journey price £19.00

 

[Pauline]

That looks good. Try to purchase a seat reservation at the same time. Also look at going first class. Sometimes it is not much more and it is much more comfortable.

I use trainline.com but have heard that nationalrail.co.uk is better. Trainline lets me see all the different train times with details of where to change trains. I pickup my train tickets at the station. You could do this when you are in London, a day or two ahead of your journey (so you don't have to do it the day of, in case there is a long line).

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Ok, thanks. So, when I book online I will just get a receipt, not a ticket like I did for trin travel in Italy.

 

[www.hidden-italy.com]

I think the best policy is to get an electronic ticket (pdf) to avoid having to collect your ticket at Heathrow, assuming there are machines there; I'm fairly sure Virgin Trains East Coast offer a pdf (but check their website; you can follow the booking process before paying to check this). Trainline charge £1 for credit cards whereas VTEC do not, and you'll get free wifi if you book via VTEC, assuming you get their train between London King's Cross and York (but just checked for 1 May and it's too early to get tickets). Your quote says London Victoria - are you getting a coach from LHR? I also agree with Pauline about nationalrail.co.uk since they're not linked to specific operators and offer honest prices.

 

[Pauline]

I've never seen the electronic ticket option, but I have not done many train rides here and have not gone on Virgin. That would be the better option if it is available.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Yes, electronic tickets seem to be phasing in, as is the budget airline model of printing your own ticket. Historically you could pay a little more to have them posted, or pick them up at the ticket machines at your station.

London to York at £19 is a great price, so worth having a look at 1st class prices as well, as I reckon £35 would still be a very good price if you could get it. On the national rail site, either click on the box that says something like '1st class from £x' or the hyperlink that says something like 'other fare options'

 

[www.hidden-italy.com]

I've used the pdf option several times on VTEC. They ask you to bring id ("This ticket is only valid when presented with a valid form of ID issued in the name of the person holding the ticket: Credit Card, Debit card, National Railcard, Passport, National ID Card or Driving Licence") but in practice, rarely ask for it. You need to print it before you get to the station, of course! Cross Country trains have an app which is even easier, and I'm sure other companies do this as well (although that £19, as mentioned, is great value). VTEC's only tickets are not yet released for 1 May and, as mentioned, might have a cheap 1st class ticket (you can sign up for the release date, usually it's 12 weeks before travel).

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Ok, I am not yet ready to book it, but am coming up with this:

Print your own
Tickets will be emailed to you as a PDF, please print on A4 paper.
SGL
Tue 01 May 18
price
£16.00
Limited availability

Limited availability

Departure time
12:30
Arrival time
14:32
Duration
0 changes 2h 2min
_________________________________________________________________________
So, it takes me to the point where I can put in my credit card info to pay now for a May 1/18 ticket..

Today seats are 16 pound a(30 Can.)nd first class is 40 pound (69 Can). using Trainline website.

Pauline what is difference: 3 across and 2 across, more leg room?

 

[Pauline]

Pauline what is difference: 3 across and 2 across, more leg room?

HUGE difference. On the trains I've been on, one side of the aisle is one seat, with two seats facing each other with a table inbetween. Other side is two seats. Lots of room. Free coffee!! It is @jonathan who convinced me to start booking first when booking ahead. The cars do not fill up with people standing either.

 

[jonathan]

Not just free coffee, but free biscuits too For the most comprehensive advice on train travel in England, including photos of seat layouts, ticket purchasing options, timetables, and much more, do visit The Man in Seat 61. (He also has good info for train travel in Europe)

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Thanks, I am familiar with the man in seat 61---helped me for my April trip to Japan with the bullet train.

I think I will do an advance booking for the first class seats from London to York.

thanks eveyrone.

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Is this a good value? (possibly- London-York-Oxford-Sratford-Upon Avon-London)
BRITRAIL FLEXIPASS

$1538.00 canadian dollars total in first class for 1 senior + 1 adult:

• First day of use: 2018-04-29
• Version: Flexible
• Class of service: First
• Validity duration: 8 days within 1 month
• Sales Conditions: Refundable within 1 year from the date of issuance. A 15% cancellation fee applies. Refunds are limited to completely unused and unvalidated passes, tickets and exchange vouchers.

$830.00 x 1 Adult $830.00
$706.00 x 1 Senior $706.00
Booking fee $2.00 canadian dollars

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi C di L
If you're prepared to book in advance on individual trains, and aren't planning on spending most of the holiday on trains, I'd say the pass is monumentally bad value. $69 x 2 =$138. 4 journeys there, some shorter some longer. Let's say 4 x $140 = $560. Ok you might squeeze a day trip or two in, but at best you'll be paying twice the price.

FWIW this has pretty much always been the case with such rail passes, only being of value for the true inter-railing experience of a new city every day. I was always too old for that!

Regards
Ian

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Thanks Ian. I will price out individual first class tickets-I can get by with 4 days (flexible).
(possibly- London-York-Oxford-Sratford-Upon Avon-London)

It comes to $1338 Canadian when I price each leg of the trip separately/for two adult travellers/no senior rate/ first class flexible/advance puchase.

BRITRAIL FLEXIPASS

$1047.00 Canadian dollars

• First day of use: 2018-05-01
• Version: Flexible
• Class of service: First
• Validity duration: 4 days within 1 month
• Sales Conditions: Refundable within 1 year from the date of issuance. A 15% cancellation fee applies. Refunds are limited to completely unused and unvalidated passes, tickets and exchange vouchers.

$565.00 x 1 Adult $565.00
$480.00 x 1 Senior $480.00
Booking fee $2.00

 

[chiaro di Luna]

RailEurope shows me a total price of $488 Canadian dollars for two people in economy to do this:
London to York
York to Stratford Upon Avon
Stratford Upon Avon-Oxford
Oxford to London

So this is better for me to go without the pass.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[Callie]

You need to wait until about 12 weeks before you plan to travel to buy tickets. And trainline.com will send you an alert at your request when the tickets for your journey are a good price. You should also check split ticketing.com. You can often get some amazingly cheap tickets there. Train travel in England can be crazy expensive and you need to plan ahead to get decent prices.

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Thanks Callie.
I am now thinking of a train to York or to Oxford from London Heathrow.
Is there information on how to do this? I will arrive on Air Canada LHR terminal2.
Do train tickets need to be purchased in advance for this?

I found bus info and taxi transfer service for LHR to Oxford:
https://www.airport-pickups-london.com/Heathrow/Heathrow-Taxi-Prices.asp
Has anyone used this taxi transfer service?

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi CdiL
One advantage of Megabus/National Express/The Airline, is that they have direct routes to many cities. As a passenger, once in your seat, you can relax until arrival at the city you're going to. In terms of comfort, I'm less of a fan, but after a long flight I could see the benefit of a simple journey.

Tickets don't need to be booked in advance, though if you can, you should get much cheaper prices. For most journeys this is perfectly ok for a tourist, however the one journey that can cause concern, is the one immediately after arriving from an international flight - pre-booking means either a risk of missing the train and having to buy another ticket, or a long wait.

York trains go from Kings Cross station, so it's a rather awkward transfer, either:
> Heathrow Express to Paddington THEN Hammersmith & City (Pink) or Circle (Yellow) tube to Kings Cross St Pancras
> Piccadilly line tube from Heathrow to Kings Cross St Pancras (Takes longer, but possibly a better option with heavy bags

Oxford has the advantage of the trains going from Paddington, so no fighting the tube with heavy bags, just a simple change of platform at Paddington

Key to the decision is how tired (or late) you expect to be on arrival. If very tired or late in the evening, then the taxi starts to make great sense. If arriving earlier in the day, and usually not too tired, then public transport is more of an option. The drive is about an hour according to Google Maps and a quick check of that site says ~ £80 unless you need a larger car. Not unreasonable I'd say.

Regards
Ian