Newcastle to Durham - choice of TOC

[WolvertonWorks]

I want to do a day trip from Newcastle (NCL) to Durham (Dur) one weekday next week - looking at the Forum's site and National Rail I get a variety of options including advances but I want the flexibility to just turn up at NCL and buy a day return/off-peak day return (or two singles) to be able to use any train - do such tickets still exist? Thanks.

 

[Watershed]

You can't buy a walk-up return ticket valid on all operators ("Any Permitted"). LNER abolished such returns on most of the flows they price (including this one), as part of their poorly executed "single leg pricing" scheme earlier this year.

Instead you will need to buy two singles. Assuming no Railcards, an "Any Permitted" Off-Peak Day Single is £4.60 - valid from 09:15 M-F. The equivalent Anytime Day Single is £5.60.

It might still be worthwhile buying an Advance ticket on the day, as these are often available as little as 5 or 10 minutes before departure; if you're on your way to the station and know what train you want to catch, you can save a little over a walk-up single that way.

The other option for saving money would be to buy a "TPE only" ticket. Their Off-Peak Day Single is £4.10 (NB only valid from 09:30 M-F) whilst their Anytime Day Single is £4.80. Perhaps OK if you know you want to get a TPE train, and you're sure it's running(!), but otherwise I wouldn't bother.

 

[mangyiscute]

I want to do a day trip from Newcastle (NCL) to Durham (Dur) one weekday next week - looking at the Forum's site and National Rail I get a variety of options including advances but I want the flexibility to just turn up at NCL and buy a day return/off-peak day return (or two singles) to be able to use any train - do such tickets still exist? Thanks.

For flexible tickets, on the forum's website there is a toggle between fixed and flexible, changing this to flexible will result in no advance tickets being offered and just off peak or anytime tickets being shown - which can be super useful since it still incorporates the split ticketing search too (not useful for Newcastle to Durham but potential useful for other journeys)

 

[Wallsendmag]

just turn up and buy a ticket at each end. Either from the excellent ticket office staff or the amazing TVMs couldn’t be easier

 

[Mcr Warrior]

just turn up and buy a ticket at each end. Either from the excellent ticket office staff or the amazing TVMs couldn’t be easier

Fairly sure the one transaction (i.e. buying a -day- return ticket just before setting off) would be a little bit easier.

 

[Haywain]

Fairly sure the one transaction (i.e. buying a -day- return ticket just before setting off) would be a little bit easier.

Not if you want full flexibility as there isn’t a day return that covers all operators.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Not if you want full flexibility as there isn’t a day return that covers all operators.

Indeed. That's the point. You can't do so any more.

 

[sheff1]

just turn up and buy a ticket at each end. Either from the excellent ticket office staff or the amazing TVMs couldn’t be easier

Well the excellent ticket office staff will not be there if the return is after 1800. Of course, previously one could have bought a return ticket valid on any TOC from the excellent staff at the departure station but that option was removed to make things 'easier'.

 

[Shotton]

One thing you could do, if you wanted a return ticket valid on any TOC is buy a ticket from a station where fares to Durham are not set by LNER.

You could buy an off-peak day return (£9.00 - valid only after 08:59 M-F) or anytime day return (£10.60) from Dunston to Durham at the ticket office in Newcastle. Neither of these tickets have break of journey restrictions hence you could start short at Newcastle in the morning, and stop short at Newcastle in the evening.

The only downside to this is that, the price of the anytime day return is slightly undercut by the price of an anytime day single from Newcastle to Durham (£5.60) and an off peak day single for the return (£4.60) total £10.20, so if you were travelling out before 9am it would be cheaper to buy these tickets - I see no reason why you would not be able to buy both these tickets from the ticket office at Newcastle before your outbound journey.

 

[Willie Bee]

I did the exact same trip a few months ago and had a great time.

I had booked specific trains, but by luck rather than skill, somehow had bought an off-peak day return. i asked on this site when this ticket was valid, but as it was a Sunday, there were no restrictions.

I had booked a XCountry train but the train there was chock a block. Somebody was in my seat, so I just sat on another reserved seat. had I been asked to move I would have done, but I wasn't. There were folk standing everywhere, but luckily I had only a 10-minute journey to Durham. I returned on a TPE, a train company I had never been with before and had heard 'not so good' stories about, but it was perfect .. a pretty much empty train and very clean.

I am not even 5 % on the way to being an expert on tickets, but worth a look .. off peak day return. i booked through the Northern Rail website

 

[Watershed]

I returned on a TPE, a train company I had never been with before and had heard 'not so good' stories about, but it was perfect .. a pretty much empty train and very clean.

Perhaps the train was empty and thus clean because everyone has been put off using them by the unreliability!

Unfortunately "Any Permitted" Off-Peak Day Returns (valid on all operators) are no longer available, having been abolished earlier this year. Returns are now only in the form of "TPE only"-restricted tickets - probably not a great idea given TPE's poor reliability and the fact they only operate 1 or 2 out of several trains per hour.

"Any Permitted" singles are still available, though, that's what the OP should buy if they are aiming for maximum flexibility.

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Just to report back we went into the ticket office at Newcastle and I asked a very pleasant gentleman for a day return ticket, to use any TOC, to Durham. He commented that Durham was only 12 miles away yet had a myriad of different ticketing options between the two stations.

He then proceeded to sell me the any-TOC singles, one for each direction, that I wanted.

We had a chat about how passengers were going to cope when the ticket office was closed - I expressed surprise that such a busy station as Newcastle was losing the ticket office and he said that they had been told that work to demolish part of the area that had been part of the ticket office was due to start next week.

In the event it was TPE in both directions that we took - clean and on time and not crowded.

 

[Haywain]

he said that they had been told that work to demolish part of the area that had been part of the ticket office was due to start next week.

There has been a long standing plan to convert part of the ticket office into a 'Family Lounge' as has happened at Kings Cross. It does not lead to closure but does reflect the reduced use of the ticket office over recent years.

 

[John Griffiths]

I thought Newcastle ticket office was one of the few not listed for closure.

 

[Haywain]

I thought Newcastle ticket office was one of the few not listed for closure.

Indeed. LNER did not propose closure of all ticket offices, and I believe that Newcastle was intended to remain.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I thought Newcastle ticket office was one of the few not listed for closure.

But not in it's curent guise

 

[Egg Centric]

In the event it was TPE in both directions that we took - clean and on time and not crowded.

FWIW if the TPE is running and you are not bothered about refreshments, I marginally (and it is marginal!) recommend TPE on that journey for that reason.

It is a journey that makes zero rational sense for me to take (I'm about 15 mins drive from Durham station and 25 mins drive from Newcastle) but I do it anyway for the love of trains...

 

[Andyh82]

But not in it's curent guise

The ticket office in Newcastle couldn’t be located somewhere less convenient, almost as if they want to reduce footfall.

 

[Haywain]

The ticket office in Newcastle couldn’t be located somewhere less convenient, almost as if they want to reduce footfall.

It works.

 

[Wallsendmag]

It works.

Sort of but nowhere near as well as when it was in a central location.

 

[Haywain]

Sort of but nowhere near as well as when it was in a central location.

I was referring to the location discouraging footfall.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I was referring to the location discouraging footfall.

Ah sorry, It's getting moved again now that the south end of the station is being opened up as a new entrance.