We try out two split-ticketing tools to see if they help you find cheaper train tickets

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• ChrisC says:

  9 Oct9 October 05:33

  I looked at split tickets after reading about them on another blog but they don’t always work.

  I priced up Brighton to Manchester and it came up more expensive than going via national rail enquiries and one of the train operators website!! I even tried it as separate trips (brighton to London then Euston to Manchester) and it was still more expensive as split tickets

  So always best to check all options before assuming split tickets are cheaper.

  And if your train is late at the final destination it would affect the amount of delay repay you are due.
  .

  And why book via the Trainline who charge a booking fee when the train operators don’t and you can usually get some nectar points as well.

  • John says:

    9 Oct9 October 08:18

    You can use any number of tickets for one journey provided you adhere to minimum connecting times. You are entitled to delay repay for the entire journey, from the operator which caused the first delay. A minority of poorly-trained delay repay processing staff will try to claim that is not the case, but they are wrong; you can refer them to Transport Focus but there is currently no higher authority which can force the train operator to do anything except a court.

• MAY L LIM says:

  9 Oct9 October 05:39

  Are you able to get the same numbered seat all the way? If you get 6 tickets, is there not the chance of losing your seat along the route for one of the journeys

  • Chris L says:

    9 Oct9 October 07:04

    Some train operators now have seat selection if you book with them direct. I normally will first price up the entire journey on the operator’s website to find out which seats are available for the entire journey, making it easier when booking multiple tickets. I would note as well that it’s not just if you start your journey before 9.30am that you can make significant savings. UK train fares are not distance-based so it’s worth checking these websites for any expensive rail journies.

    • PJK says:

      9 Oct9 October 10:52

      I used Trainsplit.com for the first time last week for a trip this Friday. I fell foul of this issue and have ended up with reservations on 3 different seats in the same carriage on the way from Doncaster to Birmingham!

      Thankfully, I don’t have to play musical chairs on the way back!

      Thanks for the tip Chris L. I had priced it up on the operator website but didn’t think there would be an issue with the seats. Live & Learn!

    • MIM says:

      9 Oct9 October 12:03

      This is the silver-bullet of functionality currently missing from the websites, for me.

      If they could run this seat search, and make the reservation for the same seat for the full end-to-end journey, that would make split-ticketing a no-brainer.

      I don’t care what the saving is (within reason) I’m not going to go on a journey where I’ve got to swap seats 6 times – especially if travelling in a group.

• Adam says:

  9 Oct9 October 06:49

  Rob it’s probably worth doing an article on skiplagged for flights too!

  • Richard says:

    9 Oct9 October 07:07

    Except that when skiplagged suggests hidden citying doing so in violation of the T and Cs of the ticket and *could* get you in trouble. Whereas Train splitting is explicitly permitted by the TandCs (of UK tickets at least)

• Rich says:

  9 Oct9 October 07:01

  Isn’t this a great example of how insane our rail pricing system is in this country! Wow!

  • Richard says:

    9 Oct9 October 07:09

    It’s just as bonkers as airfare pricing (and the ability to use miles to pay a different price again probably makes airfare even more insane)

    • RussellH says:

      9 Oct9 October 10:38

      Both airfares and rail fares used to be distance based. Then some bright spark came up with yield management (AA IIRC).

      Back in the 1970s and 80s a long distance ticket could be used by a whole range of different routes and (in the air) different oiperators. Burglars would break into travel agents not for cash, but for ticket stock which they could sell on the black market.

      I remember my father making a trip LHR-ORD as a consultant on their metro and other ,local rail systems. He was given a plain LHR-ORD return ticket, I think on AA, but while in Chicago decided to come home via Toronto or Monttreal, and from there to PIK so that he could visit his sister.. Getting the return half changed to three separate tickets over several days just meant a visit to a travel agent. Then, after visiting his sister, he went back to London by train – much simpler, so he was left with an unused and unreserved PIK/GLA to LON coupon, which he gave to me. I took this into Amex and used it to book me a GLA-LGw flight. Back then no one noticed, or probably even cared, that we had different initials (no full names).
      That was the only flight I took throughout the 1980s.

  • Will says:

    9 Oct9 October 07:16

    Exactly! It’s absurd.

    They could, er, simply it all!!

    If the train operator is charging airline business class prices for peak travel to some destinations and either a) forcing you to stand in aisle or the opposite b) not filling all the seats it’s criminal. The latter case has been observed on a number of occasions on the west coast route between London & the midlands.

    The only advantage of this ridiculous fare structure is you can find some incredible off peak fares but usually it screws you especially for last minute travel.

    All for tiny profit margins if they’re lucky.

    • Richard says:

      9 Oct9 October 07:27

      it is a very complicated thing though! The ticket system just reflects the fact the railway is lots of different things to different people (and often at the same time!)

      And simplifying will like mean less demand management so more of the cardinal sins

      • Will says:

        9 Oct9 October 07:58

        It’s partly an airfare pricing model but for a very different system. maj of rail routes are heavily subsidised by govt with low pax numbers. Airlines presumably rely on much higher load factors.

        Air travel also clearly has an extremely negative impact on the environment so it’s fair to be paying an exhorbitant premium at certain times imho.

        Knowing people that have tried, the load on an individual train is difficult to find. If a fare is £200 Birmingham to London at peak time for a walk up fare because I have a family emergency, I would hope that is because there is only one seat left as would work for the airlines as a generalised model.

        Does it need to this complex? And how are these companies providing competition and value? Because occasionally I can travel 80 miles for a fiver on the weekend?

      • John says:

        9 Oct9 October 08:10

        The definition of a walk-up fare is that you can walk up at any time and pay it. They don’t sell out as they are not for a specific train. If the train is full and you can’t get on, you can file for delay repay / refund if you don’t travel.

        The train operators are not providing competition. The competition happens once every 5 or so years when the government (DfT) specifies what train services it wants to happen in a region, and then two or more potential operators bid against each other to provide those services. When the private operator fails (VTEC) the government takes over (LNER).

• BlueThroughCrimp says:

  9 Oct9 October 07:34

  Just don’t use the Trainline with it’s booking fees.

• Yawn says:

  9 Oct9 October 07:43

  I really recommend checking off-peak *day* returns yourself in addition to whatever website you use. There are no day returns between Cardiff and Oxford, for instance, which is a route I use a lot, but there are day returns Cardiff-Swindon; Swindon-Oxford. Cutting up the route at Bristol is also an option, if you need to depart just before the start of off-peak. The average saving is about 50% on a normal off-peak return and you’re much more flexible than with advanced tickets. (Assuming you travel back on the same day, of course…)

  • John says:

    9 Oct9 October 08:05

    There tend not to be day returns for trips longer than 100 or 50 miles depending on area

• Gavin says:

  9 Oct9 October 07:44

  It is also possible to do split ticketing for season tickets, I did this for 2 years from Earley to Sunningdale, Sunningdale to Chertsey and saved about £250 / year

  As stated above you need to ensure that the train you take will stop at the station you are splitting.

  • David says:

    9 Oct9 October 08:00

    I save £400/year on my season ticket from the South coast to London by splitting at East Croydon. Interestingly (and I only found this out relatively recently), the train *doesn’t* have to stop at ECR either – ticket is valid on Gatwick Express.

  • Shoestring says:

    9 Oct9 October 08:03

    Yes, we use it for season tickets to get my kids to school – use this tool to check the saving – perhaps once you have got a lead from the links/ sites in the artice – it’s:
    http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search
    which is a tool provided by National Rail. Can be a bit confusing with the options – the ‘all week any train travel’ option is the last one.

    My 2 kids have 6 half terms a year – it’s far cheaper to buy their tickets like this ie miss out the holidays/ not buy a continuos 9 month season ticket —> = 6 season tickets each pa. Both still Child fares (until January for my son – aargh!). A typical 6-7 week half term would be £120 each season ticket. x12 = £1440.

    But with split tickets I get £15 off. 12x £15 = £180 saving pa.

    Other parents with students on the same train (who I have told about split tickets) give me a cheery little wave. Station staff behind the till don’t care one little bit about the minor extra work when they put our season tickets together, just write down dates, itinerary and they’ll process it no problems.

  • John says:

    9 Oct9 October 08:03

    Not since October 2016

    • John says:

      9 Oct9 October 08:13

      To clarify since I got gazumped by Harry’s rambling – since October 2016 you are allowed to take trains that don’t stop at the split point, if one or more of your tickets is a season ticket which includes rovers, day rangers and concessionary passes.

      • Gavin says:

        9 Oct9 October 08:22

        Good to know John, I did this 2012-2014 so one to note for the future!

  • david says:

    9 Oct9 October 11:49

    Small world. I live in Wokingham, work in Reading and cycle past Early on a daily basis.

• AndyF says:

  9 Oct9 October 08:24

  This is a good website, I used it to travel to South Wales recently from the Midlands and it saved me £24 when visiting family. So it’s worth a mention if other people can make use of it.

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