"Lowest fare finder" for UK rail services

[Leogilbert007]

(MODS: Please do move if in the wrong place)

As a student, I have little money but I have more flexibility on the days I can travel, as my lectures are on certain days only.

I have always been a fan of the "lowest fare finder" on the Eurostar website. Is there anything similar for UK railways, a booking interface with a calendar view where I can view at-a-glance the days with the absolute cheapest fares of the month for a given journey?

Additionally, is this something TrainSplit/the forum site could implement?

 

[tutacre]

Not yet - it's too expensive to implement as the architecture underneath the ticketing system penalises that bulk collection and analysis of data.

It is pretty likely to happen eventually - and there are some very large procurement tenders currently active around revenue management systems - that will enable some of this insight elsewhere.

Worth noting that this problem isn't unique to customers - TOCs cannot easily see the data either, makes it difficult for them to compete with other train operators unless you have fairly blunt/generic rules.

 

[Leogilbert007]

Not yet - it's too expensive to implement as the architecture underneath the ticketing system penalises that bulk collection and analysis of data.

It is pretty likely to happen eventually - and there are some very large procurement tenders currently active around revenue management systems - that will enable some of this insight elsewhere.

Worth noting that this problem isn't unique to customers - TOCs cannot easily see the data either, makes it difficult for them to compete with other train operators unless you have fairly blunt/generic rules.

Good to know! Thank you

 

[greaterangrier]

Try any website which has trainline as a backend which does this sort of thing week by week. It uses cached data, so the price quoted might have gone by then and hence gone up or down.

Examples include West Mids Trains, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@Leogilbert007 . Where are you based? Somewhere in Greater London, perhaps? Would something like a 'Southern Daysave' (day ranger) be any good? Normally has to be booked a few days in advance but covers a considerable area, including the South Coast. Think it's priced at £26.00, or is that still too expensive?

 

[Leogilbert007]

Try any website which has trainline as a backend which does this sort of thing week by week. It uses cached data, so the price quoted might have gone by then and hence gone up or down.

Examples include West Mids Trains, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia.

Thanks!

@Leogilbert007 . Where are you based? Somewhere in Greater London, perhaps? Would something like a 'Southern Daysave' (day ranger) be any good? Normally has to be booked a few days in advance but covers a considerable area, including the South Coast. Think it's priced at £26.00, or is that still too expensive?

Yeah I'm in SE London. A Daysave is useful, but what would be even more useful would be an easy way to see what days have the (rapidly decreasing in availability) £3.5-£7 Advances. Thanks though!

 

[osmarks]

Not yet - it's too expensive to implement as the architecture underneath the ticketing system penalises that bulk collection and analysis of data.

It is pretty likely to happen eventually - and there are some very large procurement tenders currently active around revenue management systems - that will enable some of this insight elsewhere.

Technically or contractually? I can't see how this would be possible technically. Computers are fast.