http://www.takethetrain.co.uk

[46100ROYALSCOT]

Been to the TakeTheTrain web site and have to say it looks good, however when I tried booking tickets for 2 adults, one with railcard and one without it would not let me, it assumed 2 adults with 2 railcards a minor problem but anyone know how to solve problem without booking 2 separate tickets?

 

[SS4]

I have to admit it looks good. I tried BHM-EUS for this Saturday and it recommends the LM super off peak (which is the cheapest ticket for the journey) off the bat instead of having to select LM only or slower trains

The MP3 voucher looks good and 7digital is the best site for downloading mp3 files from.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
If anything this site simply looks too good to be true - has anyone seen a catch yet?

 

[transportphoto]

I am going to create a new thread to discuss the site to save this thread going further off topic

Initial Post in this thread before they were merged:

Hi All,

Following a discussion in another thread, I wish to open this thread to discuss the site.

The site was founded in approximately February, a ticket which is claimed to be 'the first ever takethetrain.co.uk ticket' has been uploaded to their facebook account. (see attached)

I have had no personal experience with the site but their offer of a free MP3 download everytime you buy through them and that they don't charge a booking fee - make them sound a tad to good to be true.

I have also sent off an email to ATOC's enquiry address asking them to confirm that they accredit the site.

The thread of the original offtopic discussion can be found here: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=47501
Their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FerdinandFrog

Cheers,

TP

 

[WestCoast]

They seem kosher, plus the MP3 offer is excellent in combination with no fees. I don't know how they are making money apart from advertising!

 

[transportphoto]

Also - just found that they like us on facebook

They do seem kosher but will await the response from ATOC before booking with them

 

[lyesbkz]

a ticket which is claimed to be 'the first ever takethetrain.co.uk ticket' has been uploaded to their facebook account. (see attached)

Inserting '6190' into Avantix returns 'OPENRAIL WEB' as the point-of-sale, not sure what to interpret from this.

And the domain holder is the following:

OPENRAIL LIMITED
ALPHA TOWER
SUFFOLK STREET QUEENSWAY
BIRMINGHAM
WEST MIDLANDS
ENGLAND
B1 1TT
Company No. 07263772

 

[transportphoto]

Inserting '6190' into Avantix returns 'OPENRAIL WEB' as the point-of-sale, not sure what to interpret from this.

And the domain holder is the following:

That address matches with the one advertised here: http://www.takethetrain.co.uk/apps/WebObjects/TTT.woa/wa/Nav/contact and on there FB page

 

[mb]

I found them on Seat61.com when I was fed up with other sites that all use the same booking engine.

I've used them on several occasions now (ie. bought tickets) and they are in a league of their own. Even asking a question was replied to quickly and efficiently.

I love the fact the cheapest fare is displayed first, which usually involves a lot of legwork at TheTrainLine.com and RedSpottedHanky.com. The charges comparison part of their website is also refreshingly honest.

Just wish you could save Favourite Journeys, but they did tell me that they would add this at some point soon. Long may they continue.

 

[mb]

Not heard of takethetrain before either! And a free MP3 with every booking means that it'll probably be the site I start using a lot more :P

Nice to give something back to this website! As I've said in another post, I've bought tickets from TakeTheTrain.co.uk for the past few weeks running now and they are superb.

I found it via Seat61.com when TheTrainLine and RedSpottedHanky were driving me crazy.

 

[lyesbkz]

I wish there was a public API for NR, then I'd attempt to code my own website and make it fully flexible! But still it's nice to see another website out there with its own UI

 

[Mike395]

Been to the TakeTheTrain web site and have to say it looks good, however when I tried booking tickets for 2 adults, one with railcard and one without it would not let me, it assumed 2 adults with 2 railcards a minor problem but anyone know how to solve problem without booking 2 separate tickets?

I have emailed them with this as a suggestion, will let you know if/when I get a response

 

[lyesbkz]

I have emailed them with this as a suggestion, will let you know if/when I get a response

At least they don't call them 18-25 Railcards, like a certain retail website out there!

 

[All Line Rover]

I for one don't like the website.

It makes it difficult to find the cheapest Advance fares possible for each leg of a return journey, because it "combines" the fares for different services in specific time frames, and only brings up the cheapest return fare possible for that time frame. I don't like the way it tries to combine Advance fares - the amount of results that it throws up makes it more complicated to find the cheapest return ticket, not less!

The website is bulky making it difficult to navigate, and every time you want to search for more services it brings up an annoying frog!

Also, for journeys such as Crewe to London Euston, unless you specially select each of the faster (Virgin Trains) services, it only brings up results that include the much slower (London Midland) services.

If you select "2 Adults and 2 Children", it says that you need 2 Railcard's. No you don't! It also doesn't have an option of "0 Adults", making it impossible to buy tickets just for children.

Personally I'll stick to redspottedhanky, East Coast, and Virgin Trains where necessary.

 

[WestCoast]

The problem with WebTIS (EC, RSH and Southern e.t.c) is that sometimes it wont sell you a perfectly valid ticket for the route!

I've noticed trainline based systems are less likely to do this, although the mixing deck is still rather good.

 

[Ferdinandfrog]

Hi there! Ferdinand here, from takethetrain.co.uk

Also - just found that they like us on facebook

They do seem kosher but will await the response from ATOC before booking with them

I've just posted a picture of our accreditation certificate on my Facebook page (facebook.com/FerdinandFrog).

For info, takethetrain.co.uk is a trading name of OpenRail Ltd - and it's OpenRail who built and own the ticket issuing system.

Been to the TakeTheTrain web site and have to say it looks good, however when I tried booking tickets for 2 adults, one with railcard and one without it would not let me, it assumed 2 adults with 2 railcards a minor problem but anyone know how to solve problem without booking 2 separate tickets?

Yes, you'd have to book 2 separate tickets to achieve this at the moment. We've had a few people feed this one back to us and it is being looked into.

Ferdy

 

[SS4]

I like the MP3 offer. Hypothetically can the code issued by your site be used for any download from 7digital? I ask because they have m4a and wma files too

 

[Ferdinandfrog]

Hi there - Ferdinand here from takethetrain.co.uk

...and every time you want to search for more services it brings up an annoying frog!

I'll not take offence

It also doesn't have an option of "0 Adults", making it impossible to buy tickets just for children.

We have a fix for this one coming very shortly...

I like the MP3 offer. Hypothetically can the code issued by your site be used for any download from 7digital? I ask because they have m4a and wma files too

Very good question! I didn't know they had other formats available. Can you point one out to me ? I can then find out for you..

Ferdy

 

[All Line Rover]

I don't listen to music, but I do shop at Tesco, so for me the "free music" offer isn't very enticing. The only reason why I buy tickets from redspottedhanky is because of the "Tesco Clubcard" promotion - I wouldn't bother otherwise!

Some people - especially those who are unfamiliar with train travel - may prefer the design of the "takethetrain" website, and I have no objection to this. But I - since I know what "Advance/Off-Peak/Anytime" means - prefer to have a list of tickets for the outward journey, a list of tickets for the return journey, and be able to mix'n'match the cheapest tickets on the services I want. It's exactly what ATOS booking engines provide, which is why I like websites which use the ATOS booking engine. I don't like extremely simple websites.

 

[lemonic]

I think that Take The Train is a good website for finding the cheapest fare pure and simple, especially if you don't know much about the different prices.

However, personally I much prefer the WebTIS layout, as it is much clearer what the fares are for each direction and with the Mixing Deck you can mix and match. It also makes it much easier to look for alternative routings/splits etc. because you know the bog standard prices e.g. Advance, Off Peak, Anytime for each direction straight away to compare with, whereas with Take The Train it is harder. I suppose what I am saying is that Take The Train is good to find the cheapest price for single journeys but if you want to find the logic behind them and experiment, WebTIS is much better in my opinion. (Of course Avantix Traveller does the same thing but that doesn't tell you the up-to-date Advance fares for particular dates)

 

[SS4]

Very good question! I didn't know they had other formats available. Can you point one out to me ? I can then find out for you..

Ferdy

http://www.7digital.com/artists/stone-gods/silver-spoons-and-broken-bones/

If you click on "more formats" it shows AAC and MP3 being available.

 

[All Line Rover]

I think that Take The Train is a good website for finding the cheapest fare pure and simple, especially if you don't know much about the different prices.

However, personally I much prefer the WebTIS layout, as it is much clearer what the fares are for each direction and with the Mixing Deck you can mix and match. It also makes it much easier to look for alternative routings/splits etc. because you know the bog standard prices e.g. Advance, Off Peak, Anytime for each direction straight away to compare with, whereas with Take The Train it is harder. I suppose what I am saying is that Take The Train is good to find the cheapest price for single journeys but if you want to find the logic behind them and experiment, WebTIS is much better in my opinion. (Of course Avantix Traveller does the same thing but that doesn't tell you the up-to-date
Advance fares for particular dates)

Agreed. Takethetrain will probably appeal to the average Joe who knows little about train tickets, but probably won't appeal to the fairly knowledge people on this forum.

I too like the fact that I can instantly see the different ticket prices on WebTIS. It is slightly confusing and annoying on "takethetrain" when it brings up THIRTY THREE PAGES OF RESULTS for a journey as simple as Crewe to Manchester, and then having to wade through pages of results just to find a return fare for two specific services (out of only 5 outward and 5 return services)!


I believe that the best "simple" way of displaying the cheapest tickets would be the the following...

On the "start" page, the customer selects:

1. A "time period" for the outward journey (e.g. arriving/departing between 6am and 10am)
2. A "time period" for the return journey (e.g. arriving/departing between 7pm and 9pm)
3. Whether the customer wants "Anytime", "Off-Peak" or "Advance" tickets (there should be an explanation of each ticket type, and the Off-Peak ticket should be grayed out if the customer has selected a "time period" during which there are no Off-Peak trains)
4. Whether the customer wants Standard Class or First Class tickets

Then, on the "results" page, a list of fares for services in the outward "time period" would be on the left side, and a list of fares for services in the return "time period" would be on the right side. The customer would then be free to mix'n'match the cheapest fares.

Also, if the customer has selected "Advance" tickets, the website should be clever enough to substitute an Advance tickets for an Off-Peak or Anytime ticket if the Advance ticket is not the cheapest.

That, in my opinion, would be THE PERFECT simple website, although it's a little harder to describe than if I made a diagram!

 

[pendolino]

That sounds pretty much like what NRE gives you?

 

[All Line Rover]

That sounds pretty much like what NRE gives you?

If I made a diagram you would see that it would be a lot different. Perhaps I will make a diagram sometime.

 

[MikeWh]

Well at the moment it is a winner for me. WebTIS sites like EC, SET are refusing to sell tickets for some EC&Connections type journeys, and I don't just mean advance. Last time I tried it said Anytime tickets were not available for one direction! Meanwhile takethetrain seems to have eliminated that problem, and the price quoted for each way compared very favourably to the East Coast site.

 

[pendolino]

If I made a diagram you would see that it would be a lot different. Perhaps I will make a diagram sometime.

But if you go to NRE, you put in the time you want to leave and the time you want to return and it gives you a list of services with ticket prices, clicking on which brings up a list of available tickets including 1st class........

Or do you mean more like the matrix that thetrainline.com have on their cheapest fare finder thing?

Either way, it's been done.

 

[transportphoto]

Welcome Ferdinand to the forum!

Thank you for uploading that scan\photo of your certificate, I have also received the reply from ATOC confirming this.

I will be buying my first ticket from you soon!

 

[snail]

It doesn't sell half-price Off-Peak Singles (SVH) on Virgin West Coast, so combinations of OP Single + Advance aren't coming up as the cheapest fare when they would be on Virgin or Trainline based sites.

It's ok if you have a fixed time window, but as All Line Rover observed, not so great if you are flexible and just want a cheap fare. Given the way journeys are displayed in order of the total fare it would be helpful to be able to specify an earliest and latest travel time to search, even if this takes longer to compile.

 

[Ferdinandfrog]

It doesn't sell half-price Off-Peak Singles (SVH) on Virgin West Coast, so combinations of OP Single + Advance aren't coming up as the cheapest fare when they would be on Virgin or Trainline based sites.

Can you tell me what route you are looking at please. I have done a Birmingham - Euston search and takethetrain.co.uk is selling the cheaper Virgin off peak fare of £44.30. If you can tell me what route you have been checking I'll have another look, thanks.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I like the MP3 offer. Hypothetically can the code issued by your site be used for any download from 7digital? I ask because they have m4a and wma files too

I am checking this with 7digital. As soon as they have clarified I will let you know

 

[Paul Kelly]

Can you tell me what route you are looking at please. I have done a Birmingham - Euston search and takethetrain.co.uk is selling the cheaper Virgin off peak fare of £44.30. If you can tell me what route you have been checking I'll have another look, thanks.

As well as the SVR at £44.30, there is also a SVH (formerly known as saver half) at £22.15. This should be available to be combined with a Virgin advance in one direction, if there are no advances available cheaper than this.

E.g. take Birmingham to Euston leaving BHM tomorrow on the 10:30 service and returning from EUS on Saturday evening on the 17:03 service. For this Virgin currently offers the SVH at £22.15 on the outward service and an advance at £15 on the return, making the total fare £37.15. But you are only offering the SVR at £44.30.

 

[Ferdinandfrog]

E.g. take Birmingham to Euston leaving BHM tomorrow on the 10:30 service and returning from EUS on Saturday evening on the 17:03 service. For this Virgin currently offers the SVH at £22.15 on the outward service and an advance at £15 on the return, making the total fare £37.15. But you are only offering the SVR at £44.30.

I understand your query completely now. You're quite right, at the moment Virgin are offering online saver half fares direct. This is a new type of ticket that carries a lot of restrictions and conditions. At the moment it is being tested by the web development team to ensure that all the information that we are displaying is correct and in line with the terms and conditions. Pending testing we are confident that this type of fare will be available through our website shortly.