FGW First Advances to Devon and Cornwall

[Goatboy]

I often used to buy these but lately I've noticed there is pretty much nothing from London to beyond Exeter at anything less than about £83 one way - even looking on the day the allocation is released for a date far in the future the lowest priced First Advance now seems to be about £83+.

Are well priced First Advance tickets now a thing of the past on this route?

They still exist on other similar length FGW routes - I noticed for example that on the Hereford line it's still possible to get £29 First Advance tickets.

 

[Starmill]

With 1 1/2 First Class coaches? Yeah, mostly...

The North Cotswold line is still in its honeymoon period of cheap advances since they massively jacked up the walk-up fares. Don't worry before long their availability will be reduced I'm sure, and then the lowest tiers will start to be removed.

 

[Goatboy]

Meanwhile, fuel and car ownership gets ever cheaper.

It's a tough ask being interested in railways these days

 

[Greenback]

I expected this to happen when FGW reduced the amount of first class accommodation on HST's. Some of the cheap fares that used to be available were only sold because of over capacity. It makes no sense for FWG to offer such low fares when they can fill first class up without them.

 

[richw]

I've been struggling to find standard advance tickets from Redruth to London recently.

 

[Goatboy]

I've been struggling to find standard advance tickets from Redruth to London recently.

Never mind, plenty of seats for people using long distance Intercity trains to commute into the city from the leafy suburbs of Berkshire though

 

[Flamingo]

I often used to buy these but lately I've noticed there is pretty much nothing from London to beyond Exeter at anything less than about £83 one way - even looking on the day the allocation is released for a date far in the future the lowest priced First Advance now seems to be about £83+.

Are well priced First Advance tickets now a thing of the past on this route?

They still exist on other similar length FGW routes - I noticed for example that on the Hereford line it's still possible to get £29 First Advance tickets.

Well, you know the solution - go to Hereford instead

 

[Starmill]

Would it really have killed you to have 1 train an hour non-stop from Bristol Parkway, and another from Exeter? We'd never put up with this sort of nonsense on the West Coast :P If you're stopping within 150 miles of London, you're doing it wrong!

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Would it really have killed you to have 1 train an hour non-stop from Bristol Parkway, and another from Exeter?

Reading is a seriously useful interchange for a lot of the non-London South East. Connections to Gatwick, not via London as well.

 

[FenMan]

Reading is a seriously useful interchange for a lot of the non-London South East. Connections to Gatwick, not via London as well.

You only have to see the huge number of passengers getting on and off at Reading to answer the question. As Marlow Donkey says, Reading is the "inter city" railhead for a significant chunk of southern England. The ORR estimates 3.8M passengers a year change trains at Reading, on top of the 15.7M entries and exits.

 

[yorksrob]

Yes, I've noticed a decline in the availability of standard advanced fares West of Exeter.