Keeping the price of your rail travel down.

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Errr. so it is. Sorry Mods, delete please.

[Note to self - Read twice before posting!]

Maybe a bit about it being even cheaper with an off-peak ticket Pad-Did but only on certain trains?

Yes, maybe I could have added more to the thread, Chris, but as I recall I was trying to explain a series of specific examples rather than give an overall explanation that got lost in a flood of "if"s and "however"s.

There is another section in my original post which suggest you travel offpeak if you can, and I think that sorta covers the extra bits your asking for ...

[TonyK]

It's perfectly simple. If you're not getting your hair cut, you don't have to move your brother's clothes down to the lower peg. You simply collect his note before lunch, after you've done your scripture prep, when you've written your letter home, before rest, move your own clothes onto the lower peg, greet the visitors, and report to Mr. Viney that you've had your chit signed. You are then entitled to buy, so long as no fewer than thirteen days (not including Michaelmas Day, unless it is a full moon) have elapsed since your wife began her premature labour, to buy a ticket for a train at 3.20AM to a station near to London Waterloo, unless QPR lose by more than 3 goals, or the NASDAQ index rises (nuclear power excepted) by less than four points above the Mirabel rate, for a price equal to (or less than) the increase in price of your electricity bill in percentage terms, unless you change at Swindon. Or not.
You can always buy two single tickets to and from Paddington, and an off-peak return to Didcot Parkway to keep costs down if you are travelling from Bristol.
Or so it seems. Not easy, is it?

[teamsaint]

Can anybody explain the logic behind the geographical area covered by the network Railcard please?

In particular why it stops at Salisbury on the Portsmouth /Salisbury Line, and doesn't cover Swindon/Stroud.

(Sorry if its very obvious !!)

[grahame]

Can anybody explain the logic behind the geographical area covered by the network Railcard please?

No - there is no logic 

In particular why it stops at Salisbury on the Portsmouth /Salisbury Line, and doesn't cover Swindon/Stroud.

But in all seriousness, there is a historic logic in that the Network area was that covered by London commuter trains.  Intercity only lines (as-were at the time) are not included.

[JayMac]

The Network Railcard covers the area that was formerly the domain of Network SouthEast - one of former state operator British Rail's passenger 'sectors', created in 1982 - originally called the London & South Eastern Sector.

The Network Railcard had some of its terms and conditions protected by government when British Rail was privatised in 1994. One of those was the area it covered.

So, whilst the area covered is no longer the domain of one operator, the Network Railcard continues to be valid in this historic area. And there have actually been a few extensions to the area of validity since it was introduced.

Much more information on Network SouthEast and the Network Railcard can be read in their Wikipedia entries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_SouthEast
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Railcard

[teamsaint]

Thanks for the info chaps.
It applies where it applies, so I'll have to have some days out to Bedford or worcester !!

[JayMac]

Taking a punt at your location from your forum name teamsaint, I'm guessing you may reside close to the Solent.

If you are planning those trips to Bedford or Worcester then do take note of the Network Area map.

Don't, for instance, try a trip to Worcester via Bristol using Network Railcard discounted tickets. You'll probably need more than ticket to stay in the mapped area and if you go off the map you may be making an expensive mistake! 

[teamsaint]

yes, thanks Bigmac, I did check the map and realised that trips via Bath for instance , wouldn't be covered.

[Adelante_CCT]

Apologies if something similar has been posted about this recently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2964259/The-train-fare-trick-save-railway-user-MILLIONS-Website-uses-secret-code-cheaper-tickets-splitting-journey-legs-travelling-train.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

[grahame]

Apologies if something similar has been posted about this recently.

I don't see  a recent post ... however the Independent reports that the Ticket Split website is down through too much use

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/train-ticket-splitting-isnt-the-only-way-to-save-money--here-are-five-other-ways-10067003.html

TrainSplit.com, the website which promises to save you up to 22 per cent on each journey, is still down after being profiled over the weekend.

Interest is such that people are crashing the site in their eagerness to attempt to save money on the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)^s ever-more exorbitant rail fares.

It goes on to suggest other saving ideas ...

But what other ways could you save money travelling? Here we list some of the most straightforward.

Most mentioned up-thread, but deals change and it's worth taking a fresh look.  On railcards they say

A student railcard isn't the final say of discount cards (although it may feel like it when it ends). Here are some overlooked favourites that are worth investigating.

Chief among these are regional railcards. Cambrian Railcard, Cotswold Line Railcard, Dales Railcard, Devon & Cornwall Railcard, Esk Valley Railcard, First Capital Connect Student 16/18 Connect Card, Heart of Wales Railcard, Highland Railcard, Pembrokeshire Railcard, Valleys Senior Railcard, Valleys Student Railcard all offer discounts, some by as much as a third off travel.

Other railcards worth looking at include: Family and Friends railcard, which gives you 60 per cent off on child fares and a third off adult fares. Two Together: third off for two named adults on card travelling together.

Finally, the final Network Railcard for southern England is a steal: third off adult fares and a ^2 flat fare for children travelling within the designated zone.

All these railcards do come with terms, conditions and initial costs but they^re worth glancing over.

Is the "First Capital Connect" student card still available, or renamed, and / or are existing cards honoured by the new franchise?

Is there mileage in having a "Network Railcard for southern England" - by which I take it they mean south east - and splitting at the border for more expensive intercity routes on trains that stop near the boundary?

[warrej]

I buy advance fares on my route from NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) as soon as they are available and have been doing so for the past 6 years. Prices are constantly on the rise at the moment, and have gone up another ^10 this week. Six months ago I was paying ^85 return, now it is ^142. Well enough is enough for me, from now on I will be flying back. I'll save ^40 and get home quicker. If that goes well I might even fly up, but the morning flight is a little earlier than I want

[chrisr_75]

I buy advance fares on my route from NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) as soon as they are available and have been doing so for the past 6 years. Prices are constantly on the rise at the moment, and have gone up another ^10 this week. Six months ago I was paying ^85 return, now it is ^142. Well enough is enough for me, from now on I will be flying back. I'll save ^40 and get home quicker. If that goes well I might even fly up, but the morning flight is a little earlier than I want

Same happened in South Wales about this time last year, advance ticket prices suddenly jumped up. I drive to London now as it's half the cost, even including the Severn Bridge toll and is a quicker journey to where I need to be.

[TonyK]

I buy advance fares on my route from NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) as soon as they are available and have been doing so for the past 6 years. Prices are constantly on the rise at the moment, and have gone up another ^10 this week. Six months ago I was paying ^85 return, now it is ^142. Well enough is enough for me, from now on I will be flying back. I'll save ^40 and get home quicker. If that goes well I might even fly up, but the morning flight is a little earlier than I want

EXT to LCY, by chance?

[warrej]

I buy advance fares on my route from NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) as soon as they are available and have been doing so for the past 6 years. Prices are constantly on the rise at the moment, and have gone up another ^10 this week. Six months ago I was paying ^85 return, now it is ^142. Well enough is enough for me, from now on I will be flying back. I'll save ^40 and get home quicker. If that goes well I might even fly up, but the morning flight is a little earlier than I want

EXT to LCY, by chance?

Yes.

I came on here to give another update, as my outbound journey has had about the 4th rise this year, and is now up from ^62 to ^83.  If this is repeated next week I'll be switching to flying both ways.  My first LCY-EXT flight is in 4 weeks time, and I have to say I'm looking forward to getting home an hour and a bit earlier

[grahame]

Update - http://atrebatia.info/savingmoney.pdf and https://www.facebook.com/TransWilts