Advance tickets from Slough- anomaly?

[whole diary]

[Glovidge]

I'm trying to book an advance ticket for Mon 23rd August to arrive in Newport Sth Wales before 12:45. The 09:06 and 10:06 trains with connection at Reading are showing up as ^10.50 but the trains leaving at 09:36 and 10:36 are showing ^22.50.

The 12:06 is also quoted at ^10.50 but the 11:06, 11:36 and 12:36 are ^22, ^22and ^19 respectively?

Whats that all about then? Obviously if I split my ticket I'll get it cheap anyway but how can you charge double the price for a train that leaves at 36 minutes past the hour as opposed to one that leaves 6 minutes past the hour? 

[inspector_blakey]

Doesn't look to me like there's any anomaly there.

It may be that the cheapest fares have already been sold on the trains you mention. THose trains will have been available for purchase of advance tickets for a good two months already.

Alternatively it may be "yield management" - are the more expensive trains continuing through to Swansea for example? If so they may be busier than the ones on the other half hour. Remember that cheap advance tickets aren't some kind of god-given right, they're a tool the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) use to fill up seats on quieter trains. Busy train = fewer advance tickets available. When a train's already busy with people on higher fares it's to nobody's advantage to overcrowd it by selling lots of cheap ones.

Anyway, I really don't think you can complain too much about being able to make that journey for GBP 10.50 and arrive when you want to. That's a bargain.

[devon_metro]

Xx36 service connects into the busier Swansea service, thus seats cost more. Simples.

[Glovidge]

Cheers for clearing that up.

It does now make sense to me but I doubt it makes sense to your average passenger looking for a cheaper advance fare that one service is double the cost of the other.