East Coast 1st Class question

[jamo]

Hello all, apologies if this is covered elsewhere.

I'm looking to travel from London KX to Newcastle on Friday 24th June, departing about 9am.

I'm then looking to return as far as York on Saturday 25th, by lunchtime - & then return to London last thing that night.

I'd also like to go first class, because it'll be my birthday!

Is the easiest (& cheapest) way to book seperate first class tickets for each part of the journey? To buy a full 1st class return costs a fortune I don't have.

Thanks

Jamo

 

[ainsworth74]

Your best bet for first class will probably be to buy advances but you will need three (one for each leg). Also do you have a railcard of any sort?

Edit: I've had look and perhaps the following itinerary (book through EC's website as there is a 10% discount on advances which these prices take account of).

24th June:

09:30 Kings Cross - Newcastle 12:42 1st Advance £52.85

25th June

11:28 Newcastle - York 12:28 1st Advance £14.70
20:01 York - Kings Cross 23:03 1st Advance £48.05 (this is the last train to Kings Cross)

Total cost = £115.60 (all tickets only valid on booked trains)
For comparison the first anytime return (which is also valid for this itinerary but doesn't restrict you to specific trains) costs £386.

 

[jamo]

Thank you, that's what I suspected. I don't have a railcard I'm afraid - simply too old/too young depending on your perspective!

 

[telstarbox]

To make sure you get the cheapest fares, use www.eastcoast.co.uk (as they discount their own fares through their website) and collect your tickets from Kings Cross on departure.

 

[SS4]

Three advance tickets would be my best guess, especially given the amount of time you have. The major expense is going to be on your way out though. Do you have a railcard or are you eligible for one? (It will pay for itself if you are eligible).

All my prices are non-discounted first class advance

KGX-NCL
£53.85
0830-1146 or 0930-1246

NCL - YRK
£14.70 - pretty much all the lunchtime advances are at this price so take your pick

YRK - KGX
£39.50 (1929-2226)

 

[ainsworth74]

Thank you, that's what I suspected. I don't have a railcard I'm afraid - simply too old/too young depending on your perspective!

Judging from your post time I'm not sure if you saw my edited post above yours!

 

[SS4]

Your best bet for first class will probably be to buy advances but you will need three (one for each leg). Also do you have a railcard of any sort?

Edit: I've had look and perhaps the following itinerary (book through EC's website as there is a 10% discount on advances which these prices take account of).

25th June:

09:30 Kings Cross - Newcastle 12:42 1st Advance £52.85

26th June

11:28 Newcastle - York 12:28 1st Advance £14.70
20:01 York - Kings Cross 23:03 1st Advance £48.05 (this is the last train to Kings Cross)

Total cost = £115.60 (all tickets only valid on booked trains)
For comparison the first anytime return (which is also valid for this itinerary but doesn't restrict you to specific trains) costs £386.

Typo on the dates?

 

[ainsworth74]

Typo on the dates?

Yep fixed now thanks for spotting it

 

[jamo]

Thank you all - very helpful as always. Those are exactly the trains I'd picked out too. Best book them then!

All the best

Jamo

 

[Furrball]

Second post!

From the offer I posted previously, http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/This_is_my_Edinburgh, you can get the 09:30 London - Newcastle for £40

For the York - London leg the fare is £35.50 the following day

 

[All Line Rover]

Second post!

From the offer I posted previously, http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/This_is_my_Edinburgh, you can get the 09:30 London - Newcastle for £40

For the York - London leg the fare is £35.50 the following day

Where do you find out about all these "reader" offers?

It's like they're hidden on the website!

 

[Furrball]

It was only by chance - the £46 fare appeared, I assume incorrectly, when accessing the site using the 20% promotion. Upon collecting the tickets they were labelled Readers Offer and some Googling answered the rest!

But you are right, they are not shouted about!

 

[Deerfold]

It was only by chance - the £46 fare appeared, I assume incorrectly, when accessing the site using the 20% promotion. Upon collecting the tickets they were labelled Readers Offer and some Googling answered the rest!

But you are right, they are not shouted about!

That's rather worrying - presumably that means you could buy one without knowing the terms of the offer which seems to need a token for the tickets to be valid.

 

[Furrball]

That did indeed seem to be the case, and an email has been sent to EC web customer support to point this out and clarify the T&C of the ticket I was actually sold.

The fares have now been removed from the main part of the site and only appear when accessed through the relevant link.