Cheapest way to get from Worthing to Penzance

[Tomp94]

Good afternoon to all the ticketing gurus on here!

My girlfriend and I will be travelling from Worthing to Penzance on Monday 13th June, and returning on Thursday 16th June, both with 26-30 railcards
What is the cheapest way of getting down there please
We will depart ideally around 9am on the 13th, and then start the return early afternoon on the 16th.

Would it be beneficial to pay more money and get the train from London, so that we are not on so many busy trains, as girlfriend in-particular does not like a packed train, Rather than several changes via split tickets

Any advice greatly received with thanks!

Edit: Mods, I realized I posted this in the wrong section. Please move into the Fares Advice section

 

[miklcct]

Good afternoon to all the ticketing gurus on here!

My girlfriend and I will be travelling from Worthing to Penzance on Monday 13th June, and returning on Thursday 16th June, both with 26-30 railcards
What is the cheapest way of getting down there please
We will depart ideally around 9am on the 13th, and then start the return early afternoon on the 16th.

Would it be beneficial to pay more money and get the train from London, so that we are not on so many busy trains, as girlfriend in-particular does not like a packed train.

Any advice greatly received with thanks!

Trainsplit now produces fares of £61.90 via Salisbury using a combination of Advance and flexible fares, and £74.60 using a through via Salisbury ticket all the way, which is possible to be split at some stations where not all trains call at down to £64.62.

I don't think we can get any cheaper by using any other routings.

 

[Watershed]

Good afternoon to all the ticketing gurus on here!

My girlfriend and I will be travelling from Worthing to Penzance on Monday 13th June, and returning on Thursday 16th June, both with 26-30 railcards
What is the cheapest way of getting down there please
We will depart ideally around 9am on the 13th, and then start the return early afternoon on the 16th.

Would it be beneficial to pay more money and get the train from London, so that we are not on so many busy trains, as girlfriend in-particular does not like a packed train, Rather than several changes via split tickets

Any advice greatly received with thanks!

Edit: Mods, I realized I posted this in the wrong section. Please move into the Fares Advice section

The most flexible option would be to buy a Super Off-Peak Return from Worthing to Penzance, route +Any Permitted. This would cost £93.30 per person with the Railcard, and would allow you to travel via effectively any route (either via London or avoiding London). There are time restrictions, but they would not really affect you around the times you are interested in travelling. Due to the withdrawal of the Brighton GWR services from May, you will have to change at least twice whichever route you use to make the journey.

If you want to make the journey for slightly less, there is also an Off-Peak Return route via Salisbury, which is a little cheaper at £74.60pp. This would effectively allow you to travel via any route except via London or Reading - e.g. you could change at Clapham Junction or Southampton/Fratton, and then Salisbury, Westbury or Bristol.

Even slightly cheaper than that would be to buy a combination of flexible tickets splitting at Axminster and Plymouth - this would come to a total of £63.35pp. This would limit you to taking the SWR service between Salisbury and Exeter, but it's not actually that slow a route given you are coming from Worthing.

There is not a particularly large saving available using Advance tickets - perhaps £5 or £10pp for most route options.

I'd encourage you to enter the journey into TrainSplit and have a play around with the "fast", "value" and "cheap" modes as well as "flexible" and "fixed time" to see what suits you best.

 

[30907]

1. Are you happy to be restricted to specific trains?

2. If so, trainsplit.com suggests travelling via Fratton, Salisbury and Exeter for £123.79 total return including their fee.

3. If you want flexibility, and a day's "free" travel, then you could consider a Freedom of the South West Rover which would cost you £153.80 and would cover you from Fratton onwards.
http://www.railrover.org/pages/freedom-of-the-south-west-rover.html

However, you would need to pay Worthing-Fratton (or Southampton, which works out slightly cheaper) separately, another £40-odd, and by that time you might as well just buy an Offpeak Return all the way via Salisbury for £149.20 (

Given the modest saving Advance tickets offer, I would be tempted by that option but you may need to economise...

As to crowded trains: the London-Penzance trains which you would use beyond Exeter are often very busy from London. I wouldn't therefore bother with travel via London(Offpeak fare £186.60 for reference).

Trains from Fratton-Salisbury are sometimes crowded because of having fewer coaches than normal. Salisbury-Exeter should be OK most of the way
Exeter-Penzance is on a full-length train so will most likely empty out steadily from Exeter.

Watershed has been quicker and his suggestion of splitting at Axminster looks good. As he says, it's as quick a route as any!

 

[paul1609]

I'd fly from Gatwick to Newquay with taxi (or bus) to Truro. Withdrawal of the through trains from the South Coast to the south west means that rail can no longer compete for this sort of journey its either 4 or 5 changes or the central London inter terminal faff.

 

[Watershed]

I'd fly from Gatwick to Newquay with taxi (or bus) to Truro. Withdrawal of the through trains from the South Coast to the south west means that rail can no longer compete for this sort of journey its either 4 or 5 changes or the central London inter terminal faff.

It can still be done in 2 changes (Clapham Junction, Exeter), or 3 (Portsmouth/Fratton, Salisbury/Westbury/Bristol, Taunton/Exeter/Plymouth). It just can't be done in 1 change anymore.

 

[Haywain]

I'd fly from Gatwick to Newquay with taxi (or bus) to Truro. Withdrawal of the through trains from the South Coast to the south west means that rail can no longer compete for this sort of journey its either 4 or 5 changes or the central London inter terminal faff.

So, you're proposing a train - plane - bus - train journey to avoid "faff"? What is the benefit?

 

[paul1609]

So, you're proposing a train - plane - bus - train journey to avoid "faff"? What is the benefit?

About 4 hours quicker each way.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Apr 2022 ==

It can still be done in 2 changes (Clapham Junction, Exeter), or 3 (Portsmouth/Fratton, Salisbury/Westbury/Bristol, Taunton/Exeter/Plymouth). It just can't be done in 1 change anymore.

True but all the fastest journey times now are via the circle line averaging nearly 8 hours.

 

[Watershed]

True but all the fastest journey times now are via the circle line averaging nearly 8

Depends on if you use official connection times or realistic ones!

Google Maps suggests that going via London is indeed fastest with a journey time of 09:04-16:12 (7h8m) but that involves a quite tight (unofficial) connection across London. More realistically you'd take the train half an hour before (08:34). Changing at Gatwick and Reading (09:34-17:08, 7h34m), or Clapham Junction and Exeter (09:04-17:08, 8h4m), is then not far behind.

Obviously driving would be quickest (5-7 hours depending on traffic) but with such a long journey you'd either want to take it in turns or take 1 or 2 breaks, which would increase the journey time. Also with current prices, the 546 mile round trip could easily cost £100+ in fuel, so again, not much cheaper than rail, especially when you consider wear and tear etc.

If flying, there are flights at 08:55 and 18:55, however just the flights alone would cost £96pp. Assuming you'd take the morning flight, the latest train you'd want to catch for that would be the 06:15 Thameslink off Worthing, changing at Preston Park/Haywards Heath/Three Bridges, getting you to Gatwick for 07:13.

The flight arrives at 10:10; if taking public transport to Penzance the next bus + train connection would arrive at 14:12 - total journey time 7h57m, so no quicker than taking the train all the way. If you took a taxi to Truro you'd possibly make the 11:33 to Penzance arriving at 12:12. This is the only option which would deliver a notably faster journey time (5h57m), but it would come at considerable cost as (based on published rates) the taxi would cost ~£3 a mile, so it would be in the region of £100 return.

Add on the cost of the Worthing-Gatwick and Truro-Penzance fares and you're looking at a total of £350 for two, £175pp. That's nearly three times the rail fare splitting at Axminster and Plymouth, in exchange for a saving of 2 hours each way. Some people might value their time that highly, but I certainly don't! I am also mindful of the title of this thread - "cheapest way to get from Worthing to Penzance"...

 

[Master29]

So, you're proposing a train - plane - bus - train journey to avoid "faff"? What is the benefit?

Indeed but I understand the point as the route from West Sussex to Cornwall is eye watering enough and splitting is little better. Judging by the air fares it may be a similar cost as well, although a bus journey to Penzance from Newquay airport is a bit of a pig.

 

[Watershed]

Indeed but I understand the point as the route from West Sussex to Cornwall is eye watering enough

Hardly so. Even if you compare it to the (rather shorter) road distance you are paying between 11 and 17p per mile, depending on the ticket. With driving now costing in the region of 15-20p per mile purely in fuel, I'd call that quite good value for money, even if not exceptional.

Obviously on the train you pay per passenger whereas there is no additional cost to taking an extra passenger when driving, but even so, rail is still reasonably competitive with driving. I'd hardly call it eye watering.

splitting is little better

Splitting can save around £10pp compared to the via Salisbury fare in this case, although it does further limit the route you can take.

Judging by the air fares it may be a similar cost as well

The flight alone costs £96 return. Add on getting to/from the airport (even if you had a relative drop you off, there are hefty drop off and pick up charges at all airports nowadays) and you are looking at quite a lot more per person. It might be competitive if you're heading to Newquay, but not really for Penzance.

although a bus journey to Penzance from Newquay airport is a bit of a pig.

You'd take the bus to Newquay town centre and then the bus to Par or Truro, or the train to Par, followed by the train to Penzance. It certainly wipes out any convenience or time saving from flying.

 

[Master29]

Hardly so. Even if you compare it to the (rather shorter) road distance you are paying between 11 and 17p per mile, depending on the ticket. With driving now costing in the region of 15-20p per mile purely in fuel, I'd call that quite good value for money, even if not exceptional.

A trip from Cornwall to London is much cheaper than a trip to Sussex. I have always found that trip very expensive splitting and using a railcard but that of course can be subjective as to what one would deem good value.

The flight alone costs £96 return. Add on getting to/from the airport (even if you had a relative drop you off, there are hefty drop off and pick up charges at all airports nowadays) and you are looking at quite a lot more per person. It might be competitive if you're heading to Newquay, but not really for Penzance.

I agree that the journey to Penzance from Newquay is quite a faff with changes and probably not worth it.

 

[Watershed]

A trip from Cornwall to London is much cheaper than a trip to Sussex

I would be surprised if this is the case. The Super Off-Peak Return from Penzance to London is £85.20 for example. There will be times when Advances make this cheaper, but that's effectively a cap on the cost of the journey.

As you can see in this thread, even if you want the flexibility to go via London, the cost is again effectively capped at just £8 more than that. So yes, not exactly an impulse buy, but I'd say it's quite reasonable for a journey of 7-8 hours. And there are actually options which make the journey cheaper than going into London.

I have always found that trip very expensive splitting and using a railcard but that of course can be subjective as to what one would deem good value.

What would you deem a good pence per mile rate?

 

[Master29]

I would be surprised if this is the case. The Super Off-Peak Return from Penzance to London is £85.20 for example. There will be times when Advances make this cheaper, but that's effectively a cap on the cost of the journey.

As you can see in this thread, even if you want the flexibility to go via London, the cost is again effectively capped at just £8 more than that. So yes, not exactly an impulse buy, but I'd say it's quite reasonable for a journey of 7-8 hours. And there are actually options which make the journey cheaper than going into London.


What would you deem a good pence per mile rate?

As I don't usually use this method of calculation I could not say. You are probably correct in your quotes but I have found it to be an awkward journey with many changes and expensive in the times I have used that particular route, although not the exact stations of course. I have just been on trainsplit and the quotes are seemingly much cheaper than the times I used them in the past. Maybe someone is listening up there

 

[dastocks]

True but all the fastest journey times now are via the circle line averaging nearly 8 hours.

Depends on if you use official connection times or realistic ones!

Google Maps suggests that going via London is indeed fastest with a journey time of 09:04-16:12 (7h8m)

By the time the OP wishes to travel it may be possible to go via Farringdon and the Elizabeth line, which would be easier and probably quicker than the Circle line.

 

[30907]

About 4 hours quicker each way.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Apr 2022 ==


True but all the fastest journey times now are via the circle line averaging nearly 8 hours.

FYI the one trainsplit found me was 7h40 each way via Axminster.

 

[paul1609]

By the time the OP wishes to travel it may be possible to go via Farringdon and the Elizabeth line, which would be easier and probably quicker than the Circle line.

From Worthing unless you are on the one Thameslink a day which is reputable getting the chop. I doubt it will be as fast as a direct train to Victoria then a high frequency tube to Paddington. You have to allow a change on to Thameslink, the slower journey to Farringdon, then another change onto Crossrail, then another interchange at Paddington.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Apr 2022 ==

FYI the one trainsplit found me was 7h40 each way via Axminster.

Yes some of the via London are 7h 30 odd but this compares with connections off the morning GWR service from Brighton at Westbury of 6h30 to 6h50 in various previous timetables. GWR have decided they don't want South Coast business anymore, passengers are better off voting with their feet on the 08.55 flight from Gatwick to Newquay.

 

[miklcct]

Yes some of the via London are 7h 30 odd but this compares with connections off the morning GWR service from Brighton at Westbury of 6h30 to 6h50 in various previous timetables.

What will be the time after May when the second West Coastway Southern train is reinstated?

 

[dastocks]

From Worthing unless you are on the one Thameslink a day which is reputable getting the chop. I doubt it will be as fast as a direct train to Victoria then a high frequency tube to Paddington. You have to allow a change on to Thameslink, the slower journey to Farringdon, then another change onto Crossrail, then another interchange at Paddington.

But do you have real, recent, experience of rail travel between the Sussex coast and Paddington?

I do this quite often and I can tell you that with the current service levels there is very little difference between using the Circle line via Victoria (where I quite often end up on the District line via Earl's Court) and Thameslink/H&C/Circle via Farringdon. I usually want the Praed Street side of Paddington station and adding another change at Edgware Road is usually faster than the trek from the H&C station at Paddington.

It's an easy (same or cross-platform) change between Worthing and Thameslink services at East Croydon and when the Elizabeth line arrives it should be a no-brainer to go that way.

 

[Watershed]

It's an easy (same or cross-platform) change between Worthing and Thameslink services at East Croydon and when the Elizabeth line arrives it should be a no-brainer to go that way.

I wouldn't necessarily say no-brainer.

The Circle line from Victoria to Paddington takes 15 mins and runs every 10 mins. So a GJT of 20 mins.

Trains take 5-8 mins longer to get to Farringdon rather than Victoria, and that's assuming you don't have to change at East Croydon/Gatwick etc.

Crossrail will take 6 mins from Farringdon to Paddington and run every 5 mins initially. So a GJT of 9 mins making for an overall time of 14-17 mins once the longer journey time to Farringdon is taken into account.

So yes, overall, if you have the choice between taking a Thameslink or a Southern service, it's probably slightly quicker to take Thameslink. And certainly that is the option which I intend to take up most of the time. But it's unlikely to make a difference of more than 5 minutes and so not going to be worth changing trains (or letting trains go) for, unless there happens to be a Thameslink service due 2 mins behind your Southern service.

 

[paul1609]

I wouldn't necessarily say no-brainer.

The Circle line from Victoria to Paddington takes 15 mins and runs every 10 mins. So a GJT of 20 mins.

Trains take 5-8 mins longer to get to Farringdon rather than Victoria, and that's assuming you don't have to change at East Croydon/Gatwick etc.

Crossrail will take 6 mins from Farringdon to Paddington and run every 5 mins initially. So a GJT of 9 mins making for an overall time of 14-17 mins once the longer journey time to Farringdon is taken into account.

So yes, overall, if you have the choice between taking a Thameslink or a Southern service, it's probably slightly quicker to take Thameslink. And certainly that is the option which I intend to take up most of the time. But it's unlikely to make a difference of more than 5 minutes and so not going to be worth changing trains (or letting trains go) for, unless there happens to be a Thameslink service due 2 mins behind your Southern service.

And for the Ops journey there are 2 tph off peak from Worthing which have connection times of 6 to 9 mins on to Thameslink at East Croydon/ Haywards Heath. In terms of connecting on to a less than 1tph service to Penzance Crossrail won't for most journeys be the shortest cross London transfer.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Apr 2022 ==

What will be the time after May when the second West Coastway Southern train is reinstated?

The timings I mention are from National Rail Enquiries for the dates the op requested (in June).

 

[30907]

What will be the time after May when the second West Coastway Southern train is reinstated?

As I stated upthread. Around 7h40.