Leicester to St Pancras/Loughborough

[BigJon]

me and the missus are going to Paris on the Eurostar on 13/8/09, departing St P at 10.25 (advised to get there for 9.45). Any advice on what the cheapest tickets might be from leicester to St P, also how you might go about splitting tickets? Is that the best way to go about it and where do you get a list of all the stations to split between?

Also, season tickets from Leicester to Loughborough (I have a new job starting there) come in about £885 - what's with that? There must be a cheaper way! Any advice on what kind of railcard/season ticket to get?

Big Jon

 

[John @ home]

me and the missus are going to Paris on the Eurostar on 13/8/09, departing St P at 10.25 (advised to get there for 9.45). Any advice on what the cheapest tickets might be from leicester to St P

You have not mentioned a return journey so this assumes you want single tickets only.

The train arriving at St Pancras before 0945 is 0825 Leicester - St Pancras 0937. If you don't qualify for any of the railcards, the cheapest ticket normally available on this train is a Standard Anytime Single at £63 each. But because you're travelling by Eurostar, you qualify for a Euro Standard Single to "London International CIV" at £56.50 each - see buy a ticket to a destination called 'London International CIV' at http://www.seat61.com/UKconnections.htm#Option 2

By travelling earlier, you can obtain cheaper but inflexible Advance tickets which restrict you to one particular train. For this journey, these are cheapest bought online at eastmidlandstrains.co.uk

Currently available at £44 each are:
0755 Leicester - St Pancras 0917
0801 Leicester - St Pancras 0947
0818 Leicester - St Pancras 0930

Note that the 0801 stops almost everywhere and gets overtaken by the next two trains. If you are willing to accept a tighter connection, then there are tickets currently available at £24 each at:
0834 Leicester - St Pancras 1000

how you might go about splitting tickets?

You must split at a station at which the train stops. For this journey, the fast trains run non-stop between Leicester and St Pancras, making splitting less attractive.

season tickets from Leicester to Loughborough (I have a new job starting there) come in about £885 - what's with that? There must be a cheaper way! Any advice on what kind of railcard/season ticket to get?

I can't think of a cheaper way. The full set of standard class Leicester - Loughborough fares for 1 adult are:
Anytime Day Single £4.10
Off Peak Day Return £4.40 (M-F: not before 0900)
Anytime Day Return £5.30
Off Peak Return £7.30 (M-F: not before 0900. Return within 1 month)
Weekly season £21.20
Monthly season £81.50 (longer than 1 month: pro rata at monthly rate)
Annual season £848 (ie. 40 times weekly rate)

Railcard discounts don't apply to season tickets.

John

 

[EM2]

If you are willing to accept a tighter connection, then there are tickets currently available at £24 each at:
0834 Leicester - St Pancras 1000

I wouldn't recommend that. Don't forget there's check-in, security and passport control on Eurostar, so check-in closes 30mins before departure.

 

[BigJon]

That's all really helpful, thanks. I've also looked at doing this by National Express coach, but for the outward trip you have to get to St Margarets bus station for 5.20 a.m. and then get from Victoria to St P. Not really a big deal, but a fair amount of hassle and not what you'd want to be doing necessarily on the way back. Cheap, though, given that two returns this way are £28, far cheaper than the train. Silly, isn't it?

 

[gordonthemoron]

with National Express Coach, you're better getting off at Golders Green (most coaches stop there) and getting the tube to St.P

As far as Loughborough is concerned, have you checked with Kinch about the Airlink bus from Leicester via Loughborough to EMA/Derby?

 

[louisemcd]

Try www.megatrain.com You can usually get tickets from as little as £1 each way. I've used this a few times and it has saved me hundreds!!!!

Have a nice time.

 

[LondonLarry]

Wouldn't a through ticket from Leicester to Paris be cheaper than buying separate tickets?

 

[gordonthemoron]

Wouldn't a through ticket from Leicester to Paris be cheaper than buying separate tickets?

maybe, but the OP appears to have already bought tickets. Also, due to quotas of AP fares linked to E* services there may be none available