Paignton - Darlington

[DarloRich]

Hello,

I am tryning to sort out a ticket for a family member to travel form Paignto nto Darlington. The direct XC fare is £90 odd and i wondered if this could be reduced. I would be greatful

He has YP railcard but can only travel out on a friday aqfter 2pm. (If it is cheaper at other times let me know and i will try and arrnage something) Coming back at any time is ok. The next one is quite soon but after that will be about 9 weeks this friday.

Thanks in advance becasue i cant get it any cheaper.

 

[cuccir]

Hello, can you clarify when he wants to return? I'm presuming it's not a day trip! But is he wanting to return Saturday/Sunday?

 

[DarloRich]

Hello, can you clarify when he wants to return? I'm presuming it's not a day trip! But is he wanting to return Saturday/Sunday?

sorry - Yes coming back ideally Sunday

thanks!

 

[cuccir]

OK, well looking first at advance fares, for the specific journey you quote in 9 weeks (14th January, returning 16th):

£57.40 return Paginton-Darlo (14:22 out of Paignton, 13:54 out of Darlo), change at Newton Abbott. If he's a student, he could get an NUS extra card and receive a further 10% off advance fares by buying through the XCountry website - the cards cost £11 for a £5.74 saving in this case, but so if this is a journey he's planning to make more than a couple of times it might be worthwhile.

I can't see any significant splitting saves to be made on advance tickets.

Looking secondly for walk up fares

Paignton>Cheltenham Spa Off Peak Return £26.20
Cheltenham Spa>Derby Off Peak Return £22.70
Derby> Doncaster Off Peak Return £12.60
Doncaster>Darlington Off Peak Return £24.30

Afraid I can't offer you much better than that on pure walk ons, which is £85.60. Bear in mind this restricts your friend to every other XC train, as half go via Leeds and half via Doncaster. They all (I think) stop at Cheltenham, Derby and Sheffield.

There's always the possibility of mixing and matching as well. For example, travelling this Friday and returning on Sunday, a number of XC trains provide advances between Doncaster and Darlington for £19.80 return, bringing the overall cost down a little futher to £81.80. Again, your friend shouldn't have to change trains to benefit from this.

 

[Donny Dave]

Looking secondly for walk up fares

Paignton>Cheltenham Spa Off Peak Return £26.20
Cheltenham Spa>Derby Off Peak Return £22.70
Derby> Doncaster Off Peak Return £12.60
Doncaster>Darlington Off Peak Return £24.30

Afraid I can't offer you much better than that on pure walk ons, which is £85.60. Bear in mind this restricts your friend to every other XC train, as half go via Leeds and half via Doncaster. They all (I think) stop at Cheltenham, Derby and Sheffield.

Yes they do stop at Cheltenham, Derby and Sheffield. Just remember though, that XC services from the SW go via Leeds, and XC services from Reading go via Doncaster, so a change at Birmingham, Derby or Sheffield is required.

 

[cuccir]

Yes they do stop at Cheltenham, Derby and Sheffield. Just remember though, that XC services from the SW go via Leeds, and XC services from Reading go via Doncaster, so a change at Birmingham, Derby or Sheffield is required.

Ah my mistake, I don't think I read the timetable closely enough. You can still save a few quid splitting at Leeds rather than Doncaster, but not as much, and without the same scope for getting advance savings in as well.

 

[DarloRich]

thanks guys that is great - are tickets only available 12 weeks out? Thought i might be able to suggest Paignton>Padders>tube/bus>KGX>York (GC/EC?)>Darlo

 

[cuccir]

It's certainly an option, and in theory you could pick up a return fare for £32 + the tube trips (about a fiver I think?). But they're generally more expensive than that, especially as you want to travel on a Friday and Sunday and as you need the services to connect, but not too closely to allow for delays etc. The cheapest reasonable combinations that I can find for the 14th/16th would cost about £50, which leaves you much better going via Cross Country if you want to buy advance tickets.

 

[DarloRich]

I think in the furute we can change his travel times to mid week - which will no doubt help!