Great Western Coffee Shop

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Historically, there were 2 different fare routes you could take. A "via Bath" ticket cost (at today's prices) £42 for a period return and a "not London" ticket (again at today's prices) was £124.   That "not London" was valid via Bath, changing there and at Southampton Central or Romsey, and via Reading too - a much longer route, and priced high to avoid passengers going from Swindon to London with a Swindon - Southampton and a Reading - London ticket. Trains from Swindon at 06:16 and at 18:44 ran direct to Southampton Central, not passing through Bath, so rather perversley it cost £124 if you used them as part of your return journey.

When there were only 2 trains a day, very early and very late and very underused running direct from Swindon via Melksham rather than via Bath, with onward journeys to Salisbury and Southampton, this absurdly high price wasn't a huge problem as it was for a journey for which appropriate return trips weren't available anyway!  However, when the services via Melksham were increased from 2 a day to 8 (and it's now 9, and there's weekend trains too), the high fare became an issue.

The Community Rail Partnership suggsted a few minor tweaks to fares and services.  The 06:16 now leaves Swindon a few minutes earlier at 06:12 - not good news for people from Swindon, but since it now arrives a few minutes earlier at Westbury it provides a Melksham and Trowbridge to London connection that wasn't available before.   Where the train used to carry just a very few people indeed, there's now up to 30 users before Westbury.

Encouraged by CRP input, tickets "via Bath" are now routed "via Trowbridge", and the result was an overnight reduction of the fare from £124 to £42 - in other words, it's now just a third of what it was.   

There are no day return fares from Swindon to Southampton Airport - it's considered too long a journey. However, if you are looking to do the round trip in a day, a day return Swindon to Warminster and a day return Warminster to Southampton Airport add up to £37.70; all of the ticket prices quoted are any time, but off peak fares at lower rates are available on all of them if you're staring your journey after the morning peak, or travelling at the weekend.

Same story for CHIPPENHAM to Southampton airport, and for Swindon and Chippenham to Southampton CENTRAL

An Off Peak Day Return (CDR) from Swindon to Southampton Airport Parkway/Southampton Central.

Swindon - Warminster CDR £7.40
Warminster - Salisbury CDR £7.40
Salisbury - Southampton Airport Parkway/Southampton Central CDR £10.50

Total £25.30. Or,

Swindon - Didcot Parkway CDR £11.20
Didcot Parkway - Basingstoke CDR £9.50
Basingstoke - Southampton Airport Parkway/Southampton Central CDR £15.00

Total £35.70.

Many thanks for the extra data.   My original post was documentation for someone catching the 06:12 from Swindon, so I used anytime ticketing for the prices - even after Warminster, that train's still in the peak so there wasn't even an anytime to off-peak split suggestion for me to make.