On 23 Jan 2008 at 7:18am SHS wrote:
Lewes to Bristol return fares for 2 adults range from £88 to £340 2nd class & up to £540 1st class. Out on Saturday, back on Sunday. Cheapest fares only apply for the longest journey time (4hrs 19 minutes) via Fratton, otherwise the cheapest fare is £122 (journey time 4hrs). Hope this info is useful to someone, and I guess this is why so many people use the car - cheaper and quicker. The best solution is: don't travel - stay in Lewes.
On 23 Jan 2008 at 7:36am FA wrote:
Cheaper to fly . My parents now fly up to Newcastle to see my sister rather than drive. takes about the same time after all the airport transfers but is much cheaper.
On 23 Jan 2008 at 8:37am expat wrote:
That's a ridiculous cost, I could get to Fiji and back for that!
On 23 Jan 2008 at 5:30pm The Honest Truth wrote:
British Rail should never have been privatised. Something must be wrong to make train fares more expensive than private cars, especially as the petrol prices in the UK are the highest in Europe.
On 23 Jan 2008 at 5:55pm Mark wrote:
already a thread going on this subject.
Go to www.trainline.com and save yourself a fortune.
On 23 Jan 2008 at 7:25pm SHS wrote:
That's the site I got my figures from - cheap fares do exist but it takes a lot of work, advanced planning and readiness to abandon any kind of personal or business schedule to get those fares. Generally people are busy and have appointments to keep.
Rail travel in the UK is deliberately more expensive than road travel because the govt would not survive without all that revenue from car & fuel taxes. In what other country do rail companies pay the govt billions for the privilege of running trains, as opposed to being subsidised?
On 24 Jan 2008 at 1:23am zola wrote:
Went to Victoria from Lewes today around 1.00.Was told the cheaper times to go and return,none of which I fell into.Cost £23 odd.Included a tube ticket.Back before 7.15,hence higher price.Thought this was ok for a one off....Would I have found a reduction if I had searched a bit more? I'm interested...
On 24 Jan 2008 at 5:56am SHS wrote:
trainline.com gives the fare you paid (£23.80) so you got the cheapest deal out there for those times. There is a ticket called a 'pricebuster' at £13.50 which I admit is an excellent price, but you have to leave London by 16.00 and not arrive in London before 10.55 so the 09.49 from Lewes is the first train out at this price. Useful if you don't work and just want to go to London to post a letter.
On 24 Jan 2008 at 11:31am Rookie wrote:
Train prices are a complete rip off, especially on commuter lines like Brighton to London, and Lewes to London. One tip though if there are 3 or 4 of you going somewhere: a Groupsave ticket means only 2 pay and any kids go for a £1.
On 24 Jan 2008 at 9:36pm Spinster Of This Parish wrote:
It would appear that travelling to London from Uckfield is much cheaper.
Cheap day return = £12.90
Pricebuster ticket = £9.00
Travelcard = £15.20
On 25 Jan 2008 at 12:06am smiler wrote:
Which parish?
On 25 Jan 2008 at 2:29pm Phaedra Isabella wrote:
Yes, train fares are too expensive for the service provided. However, at least Southern offer a fairly reasonable service - South West are rubbish and charge twice as much for half the distance. I had the joy of getting South West trains to London a fair bit last year (thank goodness I'm back in Sussex now) - the staff were rude, the prices insane, and the crowded conditions on both the Reading and Hounslow lines give "sardines" a whole new meaning. After that, the Lewes service is pretty damn good!
On 25 Jan 2008 at 6:55pm SHS wrote:
Interesting name, Phaedra.
On 28 Jan 2008 at 2:23pm Andrew Richardson wrote:
If you're going up to London for the day, go to the Tourist Information Centre in Lewes first, and you can buy tickets that will get you unlimited journeys on the Southern network (including London) for £10 each, or £20 for 3 or 4 people. There's a couple of restrictions but not much more than the PriceBuster. I've used those loads of times.
On 28 Jan 2008 at 4:04pm zola wrote:
I have heard that if you but 2 seperate tickets(1 there and 1 back) instead of a return,it can often save you money.Never tried it yet but I am going to. Bit cheesed of about that £10 to London ticket,I paid £23,80 last Wednesday for mine....