Cheltenham or Worcester to Birmingham

[Cheryl Meow]

I was looking for a fare for a return trip to Birmingham and was disappointed that it cost almost £35 for a return from Cheltenham so looked at driving to Worcestershire Parkway, fifteen minutes up the line and saw that it was £12 return from there.

What is the formula used to work out the prices like that? I think I'd be happy to pay £20 from Cheltenham owing to it being a bit further than Worcester but £35 in way too much.

 

[Edvid]

They're two different ticket types; first one is an Off-Peak Return (return within a month) and the second one is an Off-Peak Day Return (return same day).

From Worcestershire Parkway the equivalent Off-Peak Return is just over £20, so about the same price per mile as your Cheltenham Spa example.

There's no Off-Peak Day Return for Cheltenham Spa - Birmingham New Street.

 

[Haywain]

fifteen minutes up the line

Fifteen minutes by train, but 24 miles in a car!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Monday at 19:12 ==

I think I'd be happy to pay £20 from Cheltenham

You could do that (£23.00 in total) by buying a day return for each part of the journey, but you'll be restricted to trains that call at Parkway.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Cheltenham Spa to/from Birmingham New Street is a somewhat further distance journey than it is from Worcestershire Parkway to/from Birmingham New Street, isnt it? Extra 20 miles, maybe?

 

[Cheryl Meow]

Cheltenham Spa to/from Birmingham New Street is a somewhat further distance journey than it is from Worcestershire Parkway to/from Birmingham New Street, isnt it? Extra 20 miles, maybe?

yes, but my gripe is the difference doesn't seem incremental; I expect to pay more but not that much more. It seems that it's priced that way because it's a different county. Ashcurch and Gloucester are the same price as Cheltenham.

 

[Haywain]

yes, but my gripe is the difference doesn't seem incremental;

Really? Birmingham New Street to Worcestershire Parkway is 27 miles, and to Cheltenham Spa is 45½ miles. It's not that far off, and Cheltenham has a better service.

 

[Merseysider]

CrossCountry have long had inadequate capacity so their fares are effectively set to the maximum they can get away with.

When booking a medium - long distance journey on one of their routes, it is often cheaper to split.

Websites such as the forum's booking site will find these cheaper tickets for you.

https://tickets.railforums.co.uk

 

[Kite159]

CrossCountry have long had inadequate capacity so their fares are effectively set to the maximum they can get away with.

When booking a medium - long distance journey on one of their routes, it is often cheaper to split.

Websites such as the forum's booking site will find these cheaper tickets for you.

https://tickets.railforums.co.uk

And before Worcestershire Parkway opened, there was no realistic split options* for someone wanting to head to Cheltenham from Birmingham (*especially as that time the GWR service to Worcester from Cheltenham was mostly 2 hourly with some poor connections at Shrub Hill/Foregate Street)

 

[Cheryl Meow]

I think I tried that once; someone said that the costs with CrossCountry rise if you're travelling through BHM so I searched for a ticket to University instead and it was no different.

 

[trundlewagon]

And before Worcestershire Parkway opened, there was no realistic split options* for someone wanting to head to Cheltenham from Birmingham (*especially as that time the GWR service to Worcester from Cheltenham was mostly 2 hourly with some poor connections at Shrub Hill/Foregate Street)

While not a split, I seem to remember 10-15 years ago there was a fiddle where Bromsgrove to Cheltenham (and beyond) was significantly cheaper than Birmingham to Cheltenham but it was valid via New Street.

At some point separate fares for via Birmingham or via Worcester were added, removing that possibility.

 

[Envoy]

Other cities can be reached from Cheltenham at far lower prices:> EG. Bristol = £12.80 off peak day return; Cardiff = £26 open return (can be a bit less with fixed train advances). So, it does seem that the Cheltenham to Birmingham fare is yet another rip-off by Cross Country who unlike the other routes I have mentioned, are the sole providers of trains.

Fares quoted do not include a Railcard discount.

 

[Cheryl Meow]

Just did a test for a trip inside Gloucestershire.

Kemble to Lydney is £23.50 yet Kemble to Gloucester is £5 and Gloucester to Lydney is £3.40.

Why does is have to be like this?

 

[MikeWh]

Just did a test for a trip inside Gloucestershire.

Kemble to Lydney is £23.50 yet Kemble to Gloucester is £5 and Gloucester to Lydney is £3.40.

Why does is have to be like this?

There's absolutely nothing special about fares within a county.

The two cheap fares are advance tickets tied to a specific train. You are allowed to use these as long as the quota exists and you allow enough time to change at Gloucester. If the quota has sold out then you'll be offered a more expensive option which may well still be cheaper than the off-peak day ticket. It should be noted that the off-peak day return is only £23.60, so the savings will not be as big if you need to return. The off-peak tickets are valid on any trains after 0859.