Glastonbury Festival 2016 - cheap advance train tickets will be available soon

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Western Daily Press:

Details of cheaper Glastonbury Festival train tickets going on sale get revealed

Cheaper train tickets for this summer's Glastonbury Festival will be going on sale soon.

Festivalgoers can save up to 54 per cent on the standard Great Western Railway fare if they book early.

Train tickets to Castle Cary Station for the festival with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) go on sale from Friday, April 1.

Tickets include the shuttle bus from Castle Cary to the gates of Worthy Farm, where the festival is held, and back.

I must say, however: that is the most mangled newspaper headline that I have seen in a long time.  CfN. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From an e-mail sent to me by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway):

Advance fares to Glastonbury go on sale Friday 1 April. Book early and save up to 54% on the standard fare.

Tickets include the shuttle bus from Castle Cary station to the gates of Worthy Farm ^ and back ^ and we'll be putting on extra trains from London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads.

So as well as being cleaner and greener than driving to the festival, it's also quicker, easier and more relaxing.

Book early to make sure you bag the best fare.

[broadgage]

I do wonder if the selling of discounted advance tickets is wise for this event ?

As is well known, the Glastonbury festival results in gross overcrowding, with intending passengers at both Paddington and later at Castle Cary being regularly directed to holding pens until space is available.

As I have remarked in another thread, I though that the purpose of selling discounted advance tickets was to fill seats that would otherwise be unused, and not make overcrowded trains even worse.

[ChrisB]

Then GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) would get accused of ripping off, similar to when the cheapest were restricted during the Rugby World Cup. Damned if they do, damned if they don't

[John R]

Then GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) would get accused of ripping off, similar to when the cheapest were restricted during the Rugby World Cup. Damned if they do, damned if they don't

Yep, exploitation of those poor people who can't afford to pay a reasonable fare as they've spent ^228 on a ticket for the event. I'm assuming GroupSave will be banned though, although as nobody's bothered updating the calendar online beyond next Thursday who knows?

[JayMac]

I'm assuming GroupSave will be banned though

It hasn't been yet. I can get booking engines to offer it on the Super Off Peak Return, PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-CLC^▸ (Castle Cary), out on the Weds and back on the Monday morning.

[grahame]

I'm assuming GroupSave will be banned though

It hasn't been yet. I can get booking engines to offer it on the Super Off Peak Return, PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-CLC^▸ (Castle Cary), out on the Weds and back on the Monday morning.

It looks like groupsave isn't going to be banned - in fact its use is encouraged!  My bolding from https://www.gwr.com/explore-the-west/glastonbury-festival

Glastonbury Festival train tickets

Got yourself a festival ticket? Get in the spirit and help reduce your carbon footprint by taking the train. It^s quicker than driving and, with extra trains, you can be sure of travelling in comfort.

If you book tickets in advance with us you^re guaranteed to make great savings, especially if you^re travelling in a group.

[Timmer]

There appears to be a bit of competition with SWT^▸ (South West Trains) with their recently introduced services via Yeovil. Are they planning to run six coach sets rather than three for the few services that they operate that stop at Castle Cary?