Going away for Christmas? Book your rail tickets NOW
TRAIN passengers face a Christmas of travel chaos – but by planning ahead they can avoid the worst of any disruption and even save money. Thinking about visiting relatives south of the Border for Christmas or Hogmanay? Then beware Network Rail, in charge of creaking railway infrastructure there, has already indicated that 200 ‘improvement projects’ are likely to disrupt travel plans for thousands of commuters over the festive period.
Those travelling to or from London, Manchester and Cardiff and using trains in the South West, Wales, East Anglia and Kent will be hit by the engineering works.
They start on Christmas Eve and will run until January 2 – a period chosen by Network Rail because fewer passengers travel at these times.
This work is in addition to the general overcrowding, price hikes, delays and occasional strikes which long-suffering train users put up with all year round.
But with careful planning and by booking early you can avoid the worst of any disruptions – details of which can be found via the ‘future engineering works’ link on the bottom of the National Rail enquiries website.
In addition, you can save more than £100 by booking in advance – savings that could be used to buy Christmas presents.
Advance tickets are released up to 12 weeks before the date of travel – though the discounts on offer vary between providers.
The train operators sell a limited number of discounted ‘advance’ tickets in batches from now until Christmas. Each batch costs gradually more until the price reverts to what you would pay if purchasing a ticket on the day of travel.
In some cases it can be cheaper to book a first-class ticket in advance rather than buying a standard class ticket on the day.
North of the Border, ScotRail are launching their ‘biggest ever ticket discount’ and encouraging customers to book in advance and get Standard Class tickets from £5.
A standard single ticket from Glasgow to Inverness for a passenger travelling on 22 December can be booked for just £8 today – when it usually costs around £22. The price of a standard single ticket from Leuchars to Edinburgh for a passenger travelling on 23 December can be bought now for just £7.70. And a standard single ticket from Aberdeen to Dundee for a passenger travelling on 20 December can be bought now for just £7.
Although booking in advance is the best way to save money, you can also drive down costs by ‘splitticketing’.
This is where one long-distance trip works out cheaper if it is bought as separate tickets for different legs of the same journey.
Specialist websites such as TicketySplit and Trainsplit will do the legwork for you.
Mike Richardson, owner of website Raileasy – which offers the Trainsplit function – says: ‘Train operators do not offer as many advance tickets as they should. They are aware they have a captive audience over the Christmas period and want to squeeze as much money from travellers as possible.
‘Do not fall for train company website claims of “cheapest prices”. This is an empty boast as you may actually find a better deal by splitting the ticket into different legs.’
Richardson says a single journey booked in advance from Birmingham to Glasgow (travelling after 3pm on December 23) costs £46.50. But by split-ticketing, the same journey costs just £18.80.
This is because the journey from Birmingham to Wolverhampton costs £3.80 while the Wolverhampton to Glasgow leg costs £15.
Trainsplit takes a 10 per cent cut of the saving as a fee – £2.77 – so the actual saving you make is £24.93. When planning to travel, it pays to be flexible. When you buy advance tickets, they are usually for specific trains and times – open returns are more costly. It is also cheaper to travel after 10am to get off-peak rates.
Online ticket seller Trainline says: ‘You can beat the crowds and get cheaper deals over Christmas by avoiding the busiest days of December 22 and 23.
‘To make savings book now. Our customers saved a total of £22million by booking in advance for Christmas last year – it’s a no brainer.’
Websites such as Trainline and RedSpottedHanky can do the bargain-price hunting work on your behalf. But be aware they charge for their service.
RedSpottedHanky imposes a £1 booking fee while Trainline levies a booking fee up to £1.50 plus a further 2 per cent if you buy online using a credit card.
A spokesman for the industry trade body Rail Delivery Group says: ‘It is always worth checking out the websites of the train companies directly as you might find they can get you the cheapest tickets available without further charges.
‘It is also worth purchasing a rail card if you travel at times other than just Christmas – it will soon pay for itself.’
Railcards cost £30 and usually offer a third off the price.
CARDS available include a 16-25 Railcard for youngsters, Senior Railcard for those aged 60 and over, a Two Together Railcard for two named people and a Family & Friends Railcard – which offers discounts for up to four adults and four children travelling together.
Although adults get a third off fares, the discounts for youngsters on the card aged 15 or under can be as much as 60 per cent.
Train operators occasionally offer special deals. For example, Great Western, whose passengers have recently been suffering from staff strikes, is upping the thirdoff discount for holders of a 16-25 Railcard to 50 per cent for select journeys up to the end of January.
A spokesman for Network Rail said: ‘Upgrades usually take place over Bank Holidays as up to 50 per cent fewer people travel at this time. The work makes the railways more reliable and ultimately improves journeys for thousands of passengers.’