Cotswolds Line -v- Chiltern Trains

[whole diary]

[Witham Bobby]

I hope I'm not violating this board's terms by drawing attention to Chiltern

Travelling with my wife and grown-up daughter, I will be taking a journey from the Vale of Evesham to London in mid-October, over a Saturday (out) and Sunday (return).  The most convenient journey for us would be Honeybourne to Paddington and back.  But the best total fare available at the times that would work for us is ^102 on FGW^▸ (First Great Western)

I took a look at the Chiltern option, travelling from Warwick Parkway - and I got a total fare of ^48, and could, by jiggling with train times, have got even cheaper.

It'll cost a fiver a day to park at Warwick, compared to zilch at Honeybourne, and, of course, there's the mileage on the car to consider.

Have I missed something?  Or is the FGW fare a rip-off, designed to deter custom?

[ChrisB]

Did you check groupsave on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) as I presume you did on Chiltern?

[didcotdean]

Since you talk about 'convenient' times, since it it at the weekend I would hazard a guess you are talking about advance tickets.

Chiltern's advance singles to/from MYB^▸ (London (Marylebone)) start from ^6 each and some are available at this price at all stations between Birmingham and Bicester North. Those starting closer to London (HDM inwards) have no advances available.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) advances from Honeybourne to/from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) also start from ^6.

[grahame]

I hope I'm not violating this board's terms by drawing attention to Chiltern

No, you aren't. "This forum is provided by a customer of First Great Western, and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned."   There are posting rules referred to as well - in essence about keeping it legal, honest and friendly, and not spamming.

Have I missed something?  Or is the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) fare a rip-off, designed to deter custom?

In principle, you could argue that every TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) that offers multiple ticket pricing (peak and off-peak fares) has a structure "designed to deter". How you share out responsibility for that design feature between ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here), the TOC and the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) is an interesting academic discussion; in reality it's a partnership between them all.

On top of that generality, there are some other interesting quirks in our ticket system - many are historic, or the effect of a pattern being applied across the board which makes some specific oddities and features.  And, yes, there are cases where the fare is set to maximise revenue rather than passenger numbers more aggressively than in other cases.  Competitions such as you have reported is one of the "free market" tools designed to provide a check on this practise being taken to extreme.

[Witham Bobby]

Didn't "Groupsave" - that's one I didn't know about.  Maybe it needs some profile raising?

The FGW^▸ (First Great Western) ^6 each way fare did not make itself known on the mixing-deck thingie on their website.  I was booking yesterday (30 August) for 17 & 18 October travel; seven weeks in advance.  Are these much more affordable fares available at a greater time in advance of travel? Could I have been offered a better deal had I looked earlier in the year?

[didcotdean]

They would have sold out - the cheapest advance available for each train is shown.

There are probably a combination of reasons as to the availability differential: fewer tickets in each bucket on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) trains, more frequent trains from Warwick; even that Chiltern is more of a 'turn-up' railway by culture in that there are no reserved seats etc.

I suspect the advances on the Cotswold stations go very quickly.

[grahame]

Didn't "Groupsave" - that's one I didn't know about.  Maybe it needs some profile raising?

There are various "fare saving guide" attempts out there to help you get the best product for your particular journey or combination of journeys - did you see ours at http://atrebatia.info/savingmoney.pdf

In general, it's in the long term interest of the train operators to have people buy tickets at good prices - it encourages more people to use the train (less are put off by the cost, and people don't feel hard done by if they find later that they spent more than they needed) and after all ... all these fares and options and rules are of the rail industry's making in the first place!

[Adelante_CCT]

The FGW^▸ (First Great Western) ^6 each way fare did not make itself known on the mixing-deck thingie on their website.  I was booking yesterday (30 August) for 17 & 18 October travel; seven weeks in advance.  Are these much more affordable fares available at a greater time in advance of travel? Could I have been offered a better deal had I looked earlier in the year?

Normally you can book 12 weeks in advance, and yes, if you had looked at the end of July you may have found cheaper options. I myself have just booked an XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) advance for the following weekend in October, and this was a few ^ more expensive than it was a couple of weeks ago (I should have booked it then, I just never got round to it)

[ChrisB]

Booking is open to nearly the end of Nov now. There's a thread on the Fare Fares board gives latest date

[Chris from Nailsea]

Indeed: for completeness, it is this topic.