Cheapest Ticket in the UK

glynn80 · 9 Jul 2009

With the Southern 90% offer offering tickets for as low as 50p, it got me wondering, what is the cheapest ticket in the country?

A previous thread discovered that the cheapest first class single was a First Anytime Day Single from Exeter St Davids to Exeter Central at £1.10.

Similary another thread found the most expensive ticket to be a First Anytime Return from Gunnislake to Kyle of Lochalsh at £1002.00.

Without any researching, I'll start off with Barry Links to Golf Street Anytime Day Single at £0.80, something in the back of my mind says this was one of the cheapest.

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dan_atki · 9 Jul 2009

As far as I am aware, the cheapest two (that spring to mind anyway) are:

Devonport - Dockyard (Off Peak Day Single): £0.70
Ryde Esplanade - Ryde St Johns Road (Anytime Day Single): £0.70

The latter flow being commonly used as the cheapest Annual Season ticket in the South East to entitle the bearer to the Gold Card benefits.

tony_mac · 9 Jul 2009

There are lots around Merseyside at 80p for 1 stop, which is half the price of getting the bus for 1 stop!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Northern's website shows a 'Cheap Evening Return' from Blaydon to Metrocentre for 55p.
However, due to the timetable, you can't actually complete the return in an evening, there is only one train after 6:30

Tom B · 9 Jul 2009

Bentley - Adwick Anytime Day Single is 50p.

glynn80 · 9 Jul 2009

tony_mac said:
Northern's website shows a 'Cheap Evening Return' from Blaydon to Metrocentre for 55p.
However, due to the timetable, you can't actually complete the return in an evening, there is only one train after 6:30

Exactly the same scenario (even worse infact) with a Cheap Evening Return between Dunston and Metrocentre. Dunston only has two trains a day, neither of which is after 18:30.

Tom B said:
Bentley - Adwick Anytime Day Single is 50p.

This FRPP quotes this fare as £0.60 now, a 20% increase in the fare but the lowest so far discovered. Also noteworthy, a Seven Day Season for this flow is but £3.00, a bargain!!

dan_atki said:
As far as I am aware, the cheapest two (that spring to mind anyway) are:

Ryde Esplanade - Ryde St Johns Road (Anytime Day Single): £0.70

Similarly the FRPP quotes this fare as having risen.

Ryde Esplanade - Ryde St Johns Road (Anytime Day Single) is now £0.90, a 28.6% increase!!

dan_atki · 9 Jul 2009

glynn80 said:
Similarly the FRPP quotes this fare as having risen.

Ryde Esplanade - Ryde St Johns Road (Anytime Day Single) is now £0.90, a 28.6% increase!!

Really? What price is the return now given that is £0.90 according to Avantix Traveller?

glynn80 · 9 Jul 2009

dan_atki said:
Really? What price is the return now given that is £0.90 according to Avantix Traveller?

The return fare is now given as £1.40.

The full set of fares listed in the FRPP is as follows:

FRPP said:
RYDE ESPLANADE - RYDE PIER HEAD

SDS- .90
SDR- 1.40
7DS- 5.20

Oracle · 9 Jul 2009

I gather that Ryde Pier Head to Esplanade is 745 yards + a bit...90 pence! However, Leicester Square -Covent Garden, 0.16 mile or 745 feet could cost you £4! I was very pleased with a ticketwith R/C discount of around £35 from Southampton Penrith via London and Underground, say 350 miles geographically.

glynn80 · 9 Jul 2009

Another interesting thing I have noted related to this topic is the SYPTE fares structure.

There seems to be no logical reason why the Bentley to Adwick Anytime Day Single should be £0.60 from what I see.

The SYPTE system certainly doesn't seem to be distance based. Bentley to Adwick is 2 miles 25 chains. Similarly distanced stations exist within the SYPTE area such as Bolton on Dearne to Goldthorpe at 1 mile 6 chains, this fare however is significantly higher at £1.80, three times the price for half the distance.

Another anomaly surfaced within the SYPTE area is the Doncaster to Adwick flow. If we compare this flow to the Bentley to Adwick flow, there is one thing that stands out.

FRPP said:
BENTLEY S YORKS - ADWICK

SDS- .60
SDR- 1.10
CDR- .80
7DS- 3.00

FRPP said:
DONCASTER. 6417 - ADWICK 8353

SDS- .60
SDR- 1.10
CDR- .80
7DS- 6.10

The season ticket price on the Doncaster to Adwick flow is double that of the Bentley to Adwick flow, despite all the other fare types being equal.

Can anybody shed any light on these anomalies?

mathmo · 9 Jul 2009

Ryde Esplanade - Ryde St Johns Rd is now cheaper than to Pierhead: SDS £0.70, SDR £0.90.

Tom B · 9 Jul 2009

Do not expect any form of logic or common sense from the SYPTE

.

tony_mac · 9 Jul 2009

There are lots of 60p Cheap Evening Returns around Manchester, and one at 55p
Davenport - Woodsmoor

krus_aragon · 9 Jul 2009

Chasing after tickets in Wales, the cheapest that I've found so far is travelling between any two adjacent stations on the Borderlands line south of Shotton, e.g. Wrexham General - Wrexham Central, at 70p SDS. Cardiff Central - Cardiff Queen Street, by comparison, is a wallet-wrenching £1.30!

dan_atki · 9 Jul 2009

glynn80 said:
The return fare is now given as £1.40.

You've looked up Pier Head to Esplanade instead of Esplande to St John's Road

glynn80 · 9 Jul 2009

dan_atki said:
You've looked up Pier Head to Esplanade instead of Esplande to St John's Road

Ah, so I have.

I think that was mainly because I always remember the cheapest Gold Card fare being the Pier Head to Esplanade flow but obviously the Pier Head to St Johns flow has undercut this now.

csilke · 10 Jul 2009

From http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.railway/browse_thread/thread/f866e687ffc0d222: Lichfield Trent Valley - Lichfield City Anytime Day Single - 40p

glynn80 · 10 Jul 2009

csilke said:
From http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.railway/browse_thread/thread/f866e687ffc0d222: Lichfield Trent Valley - Lichfield City Anytime Day Single - 40p

What interesting about this fare, is that it hasn't risen in price from £0.40 in any of the NFMs listed in the FRPP archive (this goes back to NFM 99).

Oracle · 10 Jul 2009

the cheapest Gold Card fare being the Pier Head to Esplanade

Surely it's Esplanade to St John's Road? The pier is owned by Wightlink, ex-Sealink and BR, and costs Islandline money to use it, so the fare reflects this. There was also Newhaven Harbour - Town which was a similarly-priced Gold Card at one stage.

A60K · 10 Jul 2009

I think the Newhaven Gold Card is still the same price as the Ryde - I looked it up a month or two ago. That Lichfield fare is strange - has London Midland's pricing manager forgotten about this outpost of his empire?

OwlMan · 10 Jul 2009

A60K said:
That Lichfield fare is strange - has London Midland's pricing manager forgotten about this outpost of his empire?

Yes and the day return is only 50p!!

martyn29 · 10 Jul 2009

csilke said:
From http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.railway/browse_thread/thread/f866e687ffc0d222: Lichfield Trent Valley - Lichfield City Anytime Day Single - 40p

priv is 0.10p for single 0.20 return, wonder if this is the cheapest priv ticket?

krus_aragon · 10 Jul 2009

Well, if we're going to open it up to concessionary fares, there's Llandudno-Blaenau Ffestiniog:

COR - WAG CONCES RTN
00000 - ANY PERMITTED
Non-standard discounts apply
1 Adult @£ 0.10 = £ 0.10
__________
£ 0.10

For senior bus pass holders who live in the Conwy area.

paul1609 · 10 Jul 2009

A60K said:
I think the Newhaven Gold Card is still the same price as the Ryde - I looked it up a month or two ago. That Lichfield fare is strange - has London Midland's pricing manager forgotten about this outpost of his empire?

According to my local contact there are over 500 newhaven harbour to town annual season ticket holders which is more passengers than use harbour station in a week!

glynn80 · 10 Jul 2009

glynn80 said:
What interesting about this fare, is that it hasn't risen in price from £0.40 in any of the NFMs listed in the FRPP archive (this goes back to NFM 99).

After some more digging, this fare was also £0.40 in NFM 95 which operated from 02 January 2007 to 19 May 2007.

It really does seem that successive franchise operators have repressed increases to this fare.

paul1609 said:
According to my local contact there are over 500 newhaven harbour to town annual season ticket holders which is more passengers than use harbour station in a week!

On a similar point regarding Newhaven Marine, the station is apparently still legally open but there are no fares listed within the FRPP Fares Finder, can anyone shed any light onto this?

theblackwatch · 10 Jul 2009

collybs said:
Yes and the day return is only 50p!!

Thats even less than the 80p return I had from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town earlier today!

First class · 11 Jul 2009

What surprises me about Newhaven is the lack of a 'Newhaven Stns' fare. Surely 3 stations in near enough the same location warrants it?

There are no passenger trains to Marine anymore- and I doubt there ever will be. That, I imagine, is why there are no fares.

glynn80 · 11 Jul 2009

First class said:
What surprises me about Newhaven is the lack of a 'Newhaven Stns' fare. Surely 3 stations in near enough the same location warrants it?

There certainly used to be a Newhaven Stns (under the previous designation of Newhaven BR) which encompassed Newhaven Marine, Harbour and Town, this destination however ceased to exist from NFM 40- October 1988.

First class said:
There are no passenger trains to Marine anymore- and I doubt there ever will be. That, I imagine, is why there are no fares.

The service to Newhaven Marine is in a ridiculous state of limbo, seemingly neither fully open or fully closed.

Hansard said:
3 Feb 2009

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date the last passenger train departed Newhaven Harbour Marine station.

Paul Clark: A passenger train service is still operating from Newhaven Marine station, but due to safety concerns at the station information is available advising passengers that they may call Southern’s customer service team to arrange a replacement taxi or they may wish to walk the three minutes north to Newhaven Harbour station to catch alternative services.

19 May 2009

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason a closure process for Newhaven Marine station has not been initiated.

Paul Clark: Newhaven Marine station is owned by Network Rail and as such it is up to them to review options for the future of the station. If Network Rail were to conclude they wished to close this station they would be required to follow the procedures under the Railways Act 2005, including a full consultation.

From the above answers we can deduce that the station is still currently open and no closure process has been initiated. However there is no actual rail service that passengers can board that operates from the station, passengers are instead required to telephone Southern and request a taxi service to transport them the 100 yards it takes to walk from Newhaven Marine to Newhaven Harbour.

If there is still a passenger service in the form of a taxi operating, then there surely should still be means to purchase a ticket to travel within said taxi?

merlodlliw · 11 Jul 2009

krus_aragon said:
Well, if we're going to open it up to concessionary fares, there's Llandudno-Blaenau Ffestiniog:

COR - WAG CONCES RTN
00000 - ANY PERMITTED
Non-standard discounts apply
1 Adult @£ 0.10 = £ 0.10
__________
£ 0.10

For senior bus pass holders who live in the Conwy area.

Similar applies on the Heart Of Wales line for those within the Counties of
Carmarthen & Powys, thats around 100 miles for those on a senior or disabled
WAG bus pass. Some areas of these two Counties only travel option is rail.
Im sure there was also free travel on the Wrexham/Shotton line as well.

paul1609 · 11 Jul 2009

glynn80 said:
There certainly used to be a Newhaven Stns (under the previous designation of Newhaven BR) which encompassed Newhaven Marine, Harbour and Town, this destination however ceased to exist from NFM 40- October 1988.

The service to Newhaven Marine is in a ridiculous state of limbo, seemingly neither fully open or fully closed.

From the above answers we can deduce that the station is still currently open and no closure process has been initiated. However there is no actual rail service that passengers can board that operates from the station, passengers are instead required to telephone Southern and request a taxi service to transport them the 100 yards it takes to walk from Newhaven Marine to Newhaven Harbour.

If there is still a passenger service in the form of a taxi operating, then there surely should still be means to purchase a ticket to travel within said taxi?

Were there ever tickets available to Newhaven Marine? I only ever travelled through the station on cheap day returns to Dieppe. There were also through tickets to Rouen and Paris. Into the 1990s there was a Newhaven Boat train which was the rear 4 cars of a Brighton Express service. There was also an early morning service from the West Coastway. None of this survived the Channel tunnel. Today if you want to catch the ferry you alight at Newhaven Town so both the Marine and Harbour stations are largely irrelevant.

The ferry timetable doesnt really support day trips from the UK anymore which is a shame as Dieppe is one of the more pleasant French ports. The ferry is mainly supported by the Dieppe region as they were anxious to retain their links with london and the UK.

william · 11 Jul 2009

When i was under 14 I could go from Sunderland to the Metro Centre and back for 30p. That was 15p each way. That used to apply on all public transport in Tyne and Wear for children and because the Tyne and Wear border is only 1/4mile from my house on a busy bus route it meant some cheap days out. Its only when I got older that I got 'stuck' in the little *****hole.

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