Buying Train Tickets for UK Travel
 

Has Anyone ever bought train tickets from 'the trainline' for travel in the U.K? Their prices are almost too good to be true! If not do you know of a site where you can do this? Thanks
MaryG

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Yes, I have bought tickets from thetrainline.com, numerous times. It is an excellent place to buy advance purchase tickets. There is nothing exceptional about the prices. You would get the same prices at the train station ticket offices, with the same advance purchase restrictions.

Perhaps the prices seem too good to be true because people like Britrail, who want to sell passes, don't tell you about these fares.

thetrainline is the major online agent for all the rail companies in the UK, and you won't get any different price buying from the individual companies themselves.

Most services within the UK are sold on the 'turn up and go' principle, i.e., that you aren't tied to a specific train and seat. But take care to check for any special conditions (cheaper outside commuter rush hours and other , and so on).

other high demand periods, I meant to say.

Thank you both for your reply. We live in Canada, and will be leaving for the U.K in two weeks. It seems the trainline mails the tickets to you. Would we be just as well to buy them when we get there? We will be traveling by train from Edinburgh to London on April 11. Can you buy tickets at any station for travel from another? (probably a dumb question) The price quoted us from our travel agent was about 3 times or more higher than the prices on the trainline. Thanks MaryG

MaryG,

In the past, and as recently as last October, thetrainline did not mail tickets to addresses outside the UK. You had to give a UK mailing address or collect the tickets from ticket dispensing machines at a selection of train stations in the UK. The latter is what I have always done.

The cheap tickets are available in limited quantities and have advance purchase requirements. If you wait until you get to the UK, you are likely to find that they are no longer available for the dates you want (unless you are arriving in the UK three or four weeks before you are making the train journey). I would buy them from thetraineline now.

Thanks ron, you have been very helpful. We rented a cootage near Callander in Scotland on your recommendation. Maybe I could have the tickets mailed there? MG

Mary, yes, I imagine you could have the tickets mailed to the cottage. My preference would be to arrange to collect the tickets from the FastTicket machines in Edinburgh Waverly station. But then I have more faith in the reliability of computer reservation systems than I do of mail systems.

I hope you enjoy your stay around Callander and the Trossachs. You have the Lade Inn in Kilmahog on your itinerary as a place to eat and have a couple of pints of their locally brewed real ale?

I absolutely wouldn't have them posted to a rented cottage.

You've no control over when they arrive, so you can't realistically ensure they arrive while you're there.

And you've absolutely no way of influencing what happens to them if they arrive before you. If the Joneses from Swansea are renting the week they arrive and know the house belongs to the Smiths of Glasgow, they'll do any number of things with letters arriving for the MaryGs. The most likely are throwing them away or putting them back into the postbox marked "unknown". You'll never get the tickets, and whatever you ask the owners to tell the renters, they can't control things.

Just wait till you get to Waverley and put your credit card into the machine. Millions do it all the time.

Thanks ron, any other recommendations? As for the tickets I guess we'll just wait till we get there. We're staying in 'Auld Toll Cottages' rented from Drew Little in Callander. We'll be there for a week taking day trips, then on to Edinburgh for 2 days and back to London on the train for 4 more days. MG

The "fast ticket" machines allow you to book in advance then pick up the tickets at the station. When you book by phone or over the internet, you'll be given a code (six letters, I think from memory). When you go to the station to join the train, you go to a machine, insert your plastic card then follow the instructions; you will be asked to type the code, then wait while the machine prints the tickets.

The fast ticket machines are perfectly reliable, quick and highly recommended. It's far and away the easiest way to pre-purchase train tickets.

Mary, I’m glad the others have convinced you to use the FastTicket machine.

I stayed in Callander just about a year ago, at Craigard Apartments, also managed by Drew Little. Based on that stay, and seeing the B&B that he operates, I am confident the cottage you are renting will be satisfactory.

In March last year, Callander was pretty quiet during the week. Many of the B&Bs had not yet opened for the season, and a lot of the restaurants were not open for evening meals. I ate a couple of times at the Bridgend House. The dining room wasn’t open, but they were offering bar meals in the pub. Good pub food. Perhaps things will be a bit busier and more things open in early April.

If you are visiting a distillery, Glengoyne is a far more interesting and authentic experience than “The Famous Grouse Experience” at the Glen Turret distillery.

I just booked tickets through trainline and recieved my codes for Fasticket machines. My question is,do I have a reserved seat or do I need to reserve a seat?

Nobody else can know what you have booked. However, if you are not reserving seats, there is no point in buying tickets in advance. All the special advance purchase fares come with reserved seats - they are cheap because you are limited to travelling on a specific train.

logan, yes you have a seat reservation, unless you bought an open ticket or are travelling on trains that don't offer seat reservations, or are travelling on a number of different trains to complete your journey. For more info, go to thetrainline web page, click on 'faq', search 'seat reservations'.