MegaTrain - low-cost trains in the UK
 

Still a limited number of destinations, but some very cheap fares. I entered Bath to London on a random date and got a fare of 4 pounds plus a 0.50 booking fee.
http://www.megatrain.com

WT - Never heard of Megatrain ... Is this for real??

Steve

It must be a spin off from Megabus??
I know they are really cheap between Cardiff and London.

http://megabus.co.uk/uk/

Muck

Megatrain, like Megabus, is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach group - which also owns Southwest Trains.

Unlike Megabus, Megatrain doesn't have its own metal. It allocates seats in a dedicated - in effect third class - section of a limited number of offpeak Southwest Trains services. Stagecoach can't expand this system onto routes outside its own franchise area - though presumably other operators could have part of their avalability sold on the Stageoach system, following the Megaxxx business model.

If they wanted to. But most routes have serious capacity shortages. The last thing in the world most operators want is more customers at uber-low prices. Southwest is an exception, because it's recently bought extra long trains for its mostly commuter franchise - but some of its commuter routes (like Southampton) might just have some latent demand for hyper-low, advance booking, fares.

Offhand, I'd say that the Chiltern (to Stratford), is almost the only other route where an operator might look at the Megaxxx concept. Certainly the chances are that it'll make no sense for the East Coast, West Coast, Cotswold and Great Western lines that interest posters on this board most.

These sorts of fares are ideal for people who want to travel cheaply and aren't too bothered what time of day they go. Most people travelling from London to Bath will want to go at a specific time of day and may not want to book weeks in advance. You should also check the journey time because these cheap fares may not be on a direct high-speed route. Main line trains to Bath Spa go from London Paddington every half hour and the journey time is around one and a half hours.

Only the branding is unique, and it's no coincidence that they're launching this in markets which have been good for Megabus.

£1.50 total for a single from Southampton to London is 1.8p/mile, compared to 3.4p/mile for the cheapest GNER single for London-Newcastle, and 3.7p/mile for Virgin on London-Glasgow. A difference, sure, but hardly a revolution.

As well as Southwest Trains, there are a number of routes on Virgin Trains (eg Manchester to the Lake District) but none of the Virgin routes offered start from London.