[TRIVIA] Most Mileage for the Money with Off-Peak Returns (i.e. excluding 'loopholes')

[Ayman Ilham]

Thought this would be fun. Between which stations would you get more mileage per pound with a walk-up return (preferably off-peak)? It could either be one return or many strung together a la split ticketing in order to achieve as much mileage as possible for the money.

DISCLAIMER: No extravagant loopholes allowed, just keep it within what would be considered 'reasonable'

 

[JonathanH]

There is a bit of previous discussion about it here - https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...or-cheapest-walk-up-fare.218390/#post-5169127

I think the Cambridge ticket mentioned is now a bit more expensive.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

There is a bit of previous discussion about it here - https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...or-cheapest-walk-up-fare.218390/#post-5169127

I think the Cambridge ticket mentioned is now a bit more expensive.

Quite an interesting discussion tbf

 

[gray1404]

The trouble with posts like this is they reveal tickets that subsequently end up getting put up in price!

Train company pricing managers look at these forums on a daily basis and if any fares of particular value are revealed it often results in the fare being increased dramatically in price or withdrawn.

It is best not to draw attention to these first publicly but just keep on using them and you can always come to one of our fares workshops to discuss them.

 

[Watershed]

Quite an interesting discussion; I am aware the Preston to Glasgow/Edinburgh off-peak return is insane (£28 w/ my railcard), meaning the overall price can be similar to advance fares if I split at Preston travelling from Manchester (doesnt help if I need to arrive in Edinburgh around 9-10am for my PhD meetings tho), although it seems to only be valid on journeys after 10am Monday to Friday. The Weymouth to Kent via the South Coast one also seems interesting. Wonder what else is out there, like if I wanna go South from Manchester as cheaply as possible using just walk-up fares (either a combination of split off-peak returns and/or day rangers).

There are some exceptional value TfW/LNR/WMR only fares from Manchester to London. With a Railcard, the Super Off-Peak Return is £23.95 whilst the Off-Peak Return is £30.80.

Even at public rate, the Super Off-Peak Return is 9.6p per mile.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

The trouble with posts like this is they reveal tickets that subsequently end up getting put up in price!

Train company pricing managers look at these forums on a daily basis and if any fares of particular value are revealed it often results in the fare being increased dramatically in price or withdrawn.

It is best not to draw attention to these first publicly but just keep on using them and you can always come to one of our fares workshops to discuss them.

Good point; gonna have to be careful about anything far out of the ordinary then.

There are some exceptional value TfW/LNR/WMR only fares from Manchester to London. With a Railcard, the Super Off-Peak Return is £23.95 whilst the Off-Peak Return is £30.80.

Even at public rate, the Super Off-Peak Return is 9.6p per mile.

Thing is, the Super Off-Peak wouldn't really give enough of a time window at the destination to do anything worthwhile.

 

[Watershed]

Thing is, the Super Off-Peak wouldn't really give enough of a time window at the destination to do anything worthwhile.

Not for a day trip, no - it's really only suitable for a period return journey. But the Off-Peak Return has far fewer restrictions and could quite feasibly be used for a day trip.

 

[JonathanH]

Not for a day trip, no - it's really only suitable for a period return journey. But the Off-Peak Return has far fewer restrictions and could quite feasibly be used for a day trip.

The LNR / TfW super off peak return from London to Manchester is fine for a day trip on a Sunday if the trains are running.

 

[Watershed]

The LNR / TfW super off peak return from London to Manchester is fine for a day trip on a Sunday if the trains are running.

At a push, yes - the first possible Sunday arrival at Euston is 13:25 under the December TT, with the last possible departure at 18:45. If you were willing to pay extra to use Northern between Manchester and Crewe (generally their Advances are quite cheap) you could get there an hour earlier and leave an hour later, which sounds more plausible for a daytrip.

It's a shame that the fare doesn't include Northern, as frankly TfW don't need any more custom on their services - but most of the Northern stoppers are fairly empty south of Stockport/Wilmslow.