My friend and I are trying to decide whether to purchase train tickets before we leave the US for England. Also, I'm confused as to whether we go to the www.Britrail.com or www.nationalrail.co.uk. We'll be in England 15 days and are traveling from Heathrow to London, then from London to York, then York to Windermere, then Darlington to London, then London back to Heathrow. The Britrail Flex passes and Consecutive Days passes don't seem to save us any dollars, if we figure using prices online. But then do we need to purchase point to point tickets in advance?

hi idah.

Nationalrail is the official website for information about the UK's rail network. It is the site i would go to for general information, timetables and journey planning. There is probably advice on there somehwere about buying tickets in advance from overseas.

I had not heard of Britrail until now and it looks like a fully commercial operation.

Is it feasible for you to come to London, then on your first day go to a mainline station and make all your bookings in person? That way you'll be dealing with actual UK rail staff who should be able to advise you and give you the best deal - plus you'll get your reservations and tickets directly. That's all I can suggest as I've never bought UK rail tickets from overseas.

Between Heathrow and Central London you need not book ahead, as the fares are the same, slow and cheap by Piccadilly line underground and fast and expensive by the Heathrow Express.

For each of the other three journeys the rail operating companies have a stock of cheap tickets which they offer for sale about a month before travel, and sell until that stock is finished. The ticket is for a specific train, and if you miss that you buy a complete new ticket. After that, they sell until a day before travel a saver ticket at a price well below full fare. Full fare they sell right up to the moment you leave.

The rail operating companies sell at any large station, and also via agents, three of which are
www.qjump.co.uk/home/
www.thetrainline.com/
www.nationalrail.co.uk/
I am afraid I do not know about the site Britrail/. Through those agents, and at stations, the train operating companies have one and the same range of Saver and other cheap tickets. If you buy on-line through an agent they send your tickets to your London hotel, or (more complicated) you use their reference number to draw your tickets from a machine (sometimes a booking office) at any big station.

If the London to York journey is on a Sunday you can buy any standard class ticket, and on the platform by the train ask for the Sunday Saver seats in first class, at a supplement of (I think) 15 pounds. You have running service of tea, coffee, biscuit and newspaper, just as the executives do on a weekday, and the seats are very comfortable.

If you throw in a few extra miles then York to Windermere includes one of the finest lengths of track in Europe, the Settle to Carlisle railway: please see www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/ and enlarge some photos on http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/gallery/index.cfm. The reference library of a city near you may have the Thomas Cook European Timetable. Table 174 shows that an example on Monday to Saturday is York 0828, buffet car train, Leeds 0847 to 0849, Carlisle 1132 to 1247, buffet car train, Oxenholme 1327

Please write if I can help further. Welcome to England and to some good trains.

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I can add two points to Mr Haines' comprehensive reply. For long journeys, there are usually Saver and Supersaver fares which allow travel at off-peak times: cheaper supersaver fares do not allow travel on a Friday, for example, and Saver tickets do not allow travel on a Friday afternoon. However, within these time limits, the tickets can be bought at any time (including the day of travel) and there is no limit on their availability - that is, they never sell out, but they do not guarantee a seat.
Of the UK's on-line booking services, QJump has been taken over by Trainline. These sites are useful for checking fares - remember that cheap APEX-type fares are restricted to specific trains and sell out, but that supersaver, saver and standard fares do not.

Britrail is an online travel agency that sells rail passes and, to a lesser extent, also offers point-to-point rail tickets. They add fees for their services and do not necessarily offer the least expensive rail tickets.

I can comment on one of the online services that Ben Haines has mentioned--TheTrainLine.com. This service allows overseas visitors to buy lower cost, advanced purchase (APEX) rail tickets. The Trainline does not mail tickets outside of the UK, but purchasers can pickup their tickets at FastTicket vending machines in a number of rail stations in the UK.

David White
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The advantages of a flexipass include convenience (you just go, get on the train) and perhaps cost savings. You can buy a pass in the US in Dollars, while in England you buy in Pounds, at $1.80 or more per pound. We found it considerably to our advantage to buy the 8 day flexipass, considering our itinerary. And there is now a pass for Britain only, excluding Scotland and Wales, which is also a savings. Might be worth considering.