Megatrain EMT London-Sheffield?

[daniel3982]

Hi I've booked for my friend from Germany to come upto Sheffield next month on the megatrain & was wondering how exactly it worked.

He finds our myriad of railway companies and advanced tickets incredibly confusing so hoping it's not too complicated for him!

The booking has just given me a code exactly like a megabus one but how does it work with the trains?

He's booked on the 9:55 upto Sheffield, without a ticket how does he get past the barriers at St. Pancras? Then is there a specific carriage he needs to sit in or can he sit in any unreserved seat?

There's really no information at all on the booking (it even says it's megabus at the top rather than megatrain), any info that would make my friends journey as painless as possible would be great!

 

[causton]

When I last went to the EMT platforms at St Pancras, there is a massive sign with the Megabus/train logo on, on a noticeboard stand at the ticket gates - you simply wait next to that I'm guessing, and hand them your preprinted booking reference code. Assume you can sit anywhere you like Make sure you turn up early, think it says 20 or 30 minutes before on the website somewhere but that might be other things...

Edit: tried to find a pic on NRE and it's not on one of the overhead signs, think it's a metal signboard in the middleish of the barriers

 

[route:oxford]

I usually travel between Birmingham and Glasgow when using Megatrain.

At Glasgow Central, you simply board the train as there are (currently) no barriers.

At Birmingham, well I usually arrive by rail so don't go in and out the barriers - but when I do, there's a woman with a clipboard hanging around at the gates.

Will have to look into St Pancras to Sheffield by megatrain. Cheap XC fares routing through Brum are almost non-existant now.

 

[WestCoast]

It's only a specific carriage on South West Trains. On Virgin and East Midlands Trains, sit wherever you like in Standard Class (although in an unreserved seat, of course).

It works a bit like Megabus, gate staff and guards have a sheet with reservation numbers which they can tick off. It's not unheard of for this list to disappear, mainly on Virgin services I believe, but that's their problem, not yours.

DB in Germany have a rather more sophisticated e-ticket system, which your friend may have experienced. The A4 paper ticket is secured against your Railcard/ID/Credit Card (comparable to a XC/Virgin e-ticket but better still) but that doesn't exist on megatrain, so no need to worry about ID e.t.c.

It's worth pointing out that the terms are the same as an Advance ticket, you must board and alight at the points stated. Alighting at Chesterfield could mean full fare from London St. Pancras.

 

[All Line Rover]

It's worth pointing out that the terms are the same as an Advance ticket, you must board and alight at the points stated. Alighting at Chesterfield could mean full fare from London St. Pancras.

That clause this no longer in the T&C's, although I wouldn't recommend that people board/alight at intermediate stations on a Megatrain ticket. ("Board" in particular!)

 

[Deerfold]

You're likely to have a lot of problems with boarding/alighting at other stations - as the "ticket" is simply a reference number then as soon as you go somewhere you're not expected to no-one will have a list of the numbers...

 

[daniel3982]

It's only a specific carriage on South West Trains. On Virgin and East Midlands Trains, sit wherever you like in Standard Class (although in an unreserved seat, of course).

It works a bit like Megabus, gate staff and guards have a sheet with reservation numbers which they can tick off. It's not unheard of for this list to disappear, mainly on Virgin services I believe, but that's their problem, not yours.

DB in Germany have a rather more sophisticated e-ticket system, which your friend may have experienced. The A4 paper ticket is secured against your Railcard/ID/Credit Card (comparable to a XC/Virgin e-ticket but better still) but that doesn't exist on megatrain, so no need to worry about ID e.t.c.

It's worth pointing out that the terms are the same as an Advance ticket, you must board and alight at the points stated. Alighting at Chesterfield could mean full fare from London St. Pancras.

Thanks for your help. Yeah I have to say I've found DB far less complicated when I lived over in Germany. They do have open access trains there too mind. I used to use an open access service (think it was Arriva running it) between Leipzig and Berlin several times that was non-stop and far cheaper than DB.

I've noticed that East Coast etickets let you enter a driving license or passport number which is great for buying tickets for someone else however sadly Cross Country require you to have the specific card you purchased them with which makes it a bit more difficult.

 

[4SRKT]

WFT is Megatrain anyway?

 

[WestCoast]

WFT is Megatrain anyway?

It's a Stagecoach Group website/ticket broker where you can buy "advance" tickets from £1 (+50p booking fee) for selected quieter services on EMT, SWT and Virgin (i.e. TOCs with a link to Stagecoach).

It spawned out of Stagecoach Megabus, which they directly operate.

WIKI has a good (accurate) summary HERE.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

You print of a page or note your reservation number (but as this is usually very long priniting the page is a far easier option). You need to be at the barrier 10 or 15 minutes before the train is due. Sometimes there is a Megatrain representative who will check your reservation sometimes there isn't and the normal ticket office staff will check it. You are normally pointed to a particualr carriage but you can sit inpretty much any unreserved seat. You have to retain the sheet as it will also be checked on the train by the on board ticket checking staff. You can not upgrade to weekend first nor reserve seats but for the few inconveniences the fares are dirt cheap. I got an £11 single Sheffield to London and four of us went from Waterloo to Southampton return for £2.50 each (£1 each way on specified train plus 50p bokking fee). The main savings seme to be on the London - Southampton and London - Portsmouth routes with the occasional deal on EMT services including a bizarre 'Megamix' of train to East Midlands Parkway and bus to Scunthorpe, Hull or York

 

[yorkie]

He's booked on the 9:55 upto Sheffield, without a ticket how does he get past the barriers at St. Pancras?

Print the relevant e-ticket or show the relevant mobile phone (as applicable) to the staff manningt the barrier.

 

[swt_passenger]

It's only a specific carriage on South West Trains.

Not even on SWT now - I haven't seen the signs put out on the platforms for ages, and the trains no longer have the labelled carriage they had when it started.

 

[WestCoast]

Not even on SWT now - I haven't seen the signs put out on the platforms for ages, and the trains no longer have the labelled carriage they had when it started.

Ah, they've changed that then. I last used a Megatrain ticket on SWT a few years ago on London - Salisbury, and there was a sign and a little sticker.

I believe the thinking behind it was to make the guard's life easier, so they could check all the mega tickets together, or it may have been to keep the cheapskates together...

 

[notoemt]

Just go up to the information desk in front of the barriers - upstairs in St Pancras. They usually make an announcement telling Megabus ticket holders to go there.

 

[Deerfold]

including a bizarre 'Megamix' of train to East Midlands Parkway and bus to Scunthorpe, Hull or York

Megabus plus - also to Burnley and Skipton, via Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford, Keighley...

 

[bb21]

During the day, passengers have to get their reservation numbers checked at the help desk in the middle of the gateline in front of the platforms. If you have a printout with the reservation number on then they will stamp your paper. If you simply noted your number and told them then they would give you a piece of card which is then stamped. You show this to the gateline staff and they will let you through.

In the evening when the gateline is not staffed, you simply walk through and the TM will check your ticket/number onboard.

You can sit anywhere in Standard Class as you wish.

Megatrain are very good value if you can get hold of the £1/£3/£5/£7 tickets and I regularly make use of them.