What's the biggest saving you can make by splitting your tickets?

[whole diary]

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

i did try to check if it was only available online today, but i forgot the second station :-p i will check tomorow

[JayMac]

Sorry to grahame, who started this thread asking for examples where folks had made big savings by buying split tickets.

The thread did drift a bit after the Haddenham & Thame Parkway - Wendover fare anomaly was brought up. That loophole has now been closed*, at least online, and the 5p/10p tickets are no longer available. But not before I was able to bag one:



 

*Some folks on another rail forum argued that the error should not have been publicised on internet forums (as I did on RailUK - and others had done on uk.railway), lest the rail industry see the error and correct it. I'm all for exploiting loopholes to save a bob or two but this one was so obviously wrong that I felt no moral dilemma in posting.

That said, be it ^0.10 for the SDS or the now ^8.00, it would appear that Haddenham & Thame Parkway - Wendover is valid via Marylebone.... depending on how you interpret the rules laid out in the National Routeing Guide.....

So on that final point I owe an apology to ChrisB and to the staff who told him the ticket was valid via MYB^▸ (London (Marylebone)). It could be allowed, depending on which bit of the Routeing Guide you read. One part says 'no' another part says 'yes'. I only read the part that said 'no' ....

[ChrisB]

But even ^8 from HDM to MYB^▸ (London (Marylebone)) Anytime is a bargain! Quite entitled to break the journey & exit @ MYB

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

can i please ask you both what method of payment was used? as im confused by something....

[JayMac]

I purchased my souvenir ticket via redspottedhanky.com along with other tickets using an e-voucher.

For accounting purposes it looks like e-voucher purchases are classed as payment by warrant, as there is a 'W' after the price on my ticket.

Method of payment codes:

M - Cash, Postal Order, National Transport Tokens
Q - Cheque
W - Warrant
X - Credit/Debit Card

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

ahhh, i wasn't aware of e-vouchers, and was under the impression that you could only pay by card online, hence questioning the 'w'

[Brucey]

My ticket was the same as bignosemac: an e-voucher through Red Spotted Hanky.

[IndustryInsider]

By no means a record breaker, but another example of just what a mess our fares system is:

A friend is travelling from Carlisle to Liskeard one way on Friday 21st October.  He wants to travel at 7am.  If you believe the National Rail Enquiries website there are NO advance tickets available ALL DAY.  It's ^158 whatever train you travel on.  His ideal train is the 07:04 which, with changes at Birmingham New Street and Plymouth gets him in at 14:20.

However, if you split your enquiry at Birmingham New Street, using the same trains as the 'no advances available' 07:04, you are currently offered Carlisle to Birmingham New Street at ^33.  And Birmingham New Street to Liskeard at ^42.  A total of ^75.  A saving of ^83!

Why on earth, if advance reservations are available on all the trains, doesn't the advance fare come up for the whole booking?  There are fares available on the next day, the Saturday, for ^65.50 throughout.  I repeat, what a mess!

[ChrisB]

Who prices all those fares?....

[IndustryInsider]

I haven't got a clue.  One of our fares experts can help perhaps?  Though that shouldn't matter of course - hence the post.

[Brucey]

Who prices all those fares?....

Carlisle to Liskeard: CrossCountry
Carlisle to Birmingham New Street: Virgin
Birmingham New Street to Liskeard: CrossCountry

[JayMac]

Carlisle to Birmingham will be priced by Virgin (VWC), Birmingham to Plymouth will be CrossCountry (CC) and Plymouth to Liskeard will be FGW^▸ (First Great Western).

The through ticket flow (Carlisle-Liskeard) is priced by CC and it is notoriously difficult to get Advance Purchase tickets on a Friday AM on many long distance flows priced by CC (see here for an explanation as to why).

By splitting the flow, you are then purchasing and Advance ticket from Carlisle to Birmingham priced by VWC and an Advance ticket to Liskeard from Birmingham priced by CC. I do agree that it's a a bit odd that an Advance Purchase fare is not available on the through flow when there are AP fares available on the constituent parts. But that's the way the system is and how CC works its yield management.

If not to late may I suggest to your friend (if he don't mind an hour wait in Brum) that he further splits at Newton Abbot. Currently the 1112 on 21/10 from Birmingham-Newton Abbot (CC) is priced at ^27.50. An Off peak Day Single from Newton Abbot-Liskeard is ^10.00. That's another ^4.50 saved on the through Advance from Birmingham to Liskeard.

[IndustryInsider]

Thank you, Bignosemac - your explanation does indeed make some sense of why the discrepancy is there, and I will mention the extra saving to my mate when I speak to him later.  Farcical really, isn't it?!

[Timmer]

For me the saddest thing is those who pay these high fares not knowing about splitting tickets just accepting the fare that comes up on a journey like this one that crosses over TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) fares boundaries when huge savings can be made IF you know how to go about splitting up the journey.

[ChrisB]

After the various Moneysaving & Which sites picked up on this, you'd need to be very unsavvy not to know about it