TfW Price Increases

[Traintripper]

Evening.
I do the occasional leisure trips involving my local station (WEM, Shropshire) and Manchester Piccadilly. In the summer the cheapest advance was £6.50 one way. In early October I noticed it had gone up to £8. Just browsing now and seen the same trip is now £9 per trip on a random day in December. An increase of £2.50 seems proportionally a very large increase over the course of just a few months

 

[JonathanH]

An increase of £2.50 seems proportionally a very large increase over the course of just a few months

Advance fares aren't protected by regulation and can therefore be increased by whatever the operator considers appropriate. In the case of Wem to Manchester it looks like it might just be the way the quotas are set as the £6.50 fare remains one of the levels which could be used.

There are some recent examples of these fares increasing by a lot more than £2.50 with the actual base fares changing, not just quotas - eg on the Cardiff to Portsmouth line.

GWR Advances Fareham-BristolTM

Sorry if this is a bit of a silly question. This is a journey I used to do quite regularly but not since lockdown. Always used to have no problems picking up a cheap advance but checked for journeys next month and January and none available. Is this now a permanent thing on this route or as a...

www.railforums.co.uk

Unfortunately, it is just how it is. The fares will be set at the level the operator things will bring in the most revenue.

 

[Traintripper]

Yes, I should be grateful, it's not gone up more I suppose. I only found the £6.50 fare in the summer and felt it very reasonable. £9 'seems' too expensive. As I only do leisure trips it just means I do less, thus decreasing revenue for the railway, not increasing it. Thanks for the relpy

 

[JonathanH]

Yes, I should be grateful, it's not gone up more I suppose. I only found the £6.50 fare in the summer and felt it very reasonable. £9 'seems' too expensive. As I only do leisure trips it just means I do less, thus decreasing revenue for the railway, not increasing it. Thanks for the relpy

It could just be forecast demand in this case. Demand may be increasing as we go into December as more people look to travel. (There was a point noted in another thread about TOCs modelling forecast demand to set advance quotas.)

Clearly, the job of the person setting the fares and the quotas is to balance people travelling less against more people travelling and to maximise the overall revenue.

 

[Merseysider]

This is far from limited to TfW unfortunately.

There have been a number of threads in recent weeks about cheaper Advance fares no longer being available. GWR in particular has cropped up a few times.

Not much that can be done about it I’m afraid as Advance fares can be priced howsoever the train company wishes.

 

[Kyle2]

This is far from limited to TfW unfortunately.

There have been a number of threads in recent weeks about cheaper Advance fares no longer being available. GWR in particular has cropped up a few times.

Not much that can be done about it I’m afraid as Advance fares can be priced howsoever the train company wishes.

Any chance of GWR bringing the cheaper fares back once the festive period is over? I went to Norwich 3 months ago, from Cardiff to NRW and back it cost me £82 (standard class there, first class back, only booked 1 day in advance), now I'm seeing it'll cost me £140 for the same journey?

 

[JonathanH]

Any chance of GWR bringing the cheaper fares back once the festive period is over? I went to Norwich 3 months ago, from Cardiff to NRW and back it cost me £82 (standard class there, first class back, only booked 1 day in advance), now I'm seeing it'll cost me £140 for the same journey?

Cardiff to Norwich advance fares are set by Greater Anglia (and start at a fairly reasonable level) but I imagine that the quota made available by GWR will generally determine the fare.

As with the TfW issue noted above, they must feel that the expected demand is sufficient not to have the lower priced quotas available.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Quota management and price rises although they have the same effect are two very different things.

 

[Dai Corner]

Cardiff to Norwich advance fares are set by Greater Anglia (and start at a fairly reasonable level) but I imagine that the quota made available by GWR will generally determine the fare.

As with the TfW issue noted above, they must feel that the expected demand is sufficient not to have the lower priced quotas available.

There are cheaper Advances after 12 December, probably due to the service between Cardiff and Paddington going back to 2tph? £81.20 return if you can travel midweek off-peak.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Unfortunately, it is just how it is. The fares will be set at the level the operator things will bring in the most revenue.

The railway is run by the government(s) since the franchises were abandoned for short-term contracts.
The "operator" will only do what DfT/TfW (who take all the revenue and pay the costs) tell them to do.
TfW is different in that the fares are set in Cardiff independently of DfT - some have been cut recently to even out anomalies between north and south.
I've no idea what will happen this year - last year the annual rise was delayed until March.
Wem-Manchester is normally £24.40 return, so any of the fares mentioned are "cheap".

 

[Mcr Warrior]

For a single journey, the cheapest walk up fare (Wem -> Manchester Stns) will probably be an Anytime Day Single at £19.50.

Any ticket split possibilities?

P.S. Don't understand why there are Advance single standard class tickets (route XC & Connections) at price tiers as high as £44.10 and £47.30. Surely, you'd just use the Anytime Day Single in that case?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

For a single journey, the cheapest walk up fare (Wem -> Manchester Stns) will probably be an Anytime Day Single at £19.50.
Any ticket split possibilities?
P.S. Don't understand why there are Advance single standard class tickets (route XC & Connections) at price tiers as high as £44.10 and £47.30. Surely, you'd just use the Anytime Day Single in that case?

It's also difficult to imagine an "XC and Connections" route between Wem (served by TfW only) and Manchester!
A return to Crewe would let you use Avanti or Northern specific fares on to Manchester, but the through train is TfW's so hardly convenient.

 

[Haywain]

It's also difficult to imagine an "XC and Connections" route between Wem (served by TfW only) and Manchester!
A return to Crewe would let you use Avanti or Northern specific fares on to Manchester, but the through train is TfW's so hardly convenient.

The fares cluster that includes Wem also contains several stations where using XC to get to Manchester would not be at all unusual.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

But why the sky high pricing of certain advance singles on this flow, some more than twice the price of the (far less restrictive) Anytime Day Single?

 

[alistairlees]

But why the sky high pricing of certain advance singles on this flow, some more than twice the price of the (far less restrictive) Anytime Day Single?

It's poor use of fares clusters basically. You'd have to buy a Telford to Greenfield to get Anytime Single prices that are greater than the highest Advance fare. (Telford and Greenfield are in the same clusters as Wem and Manchester Piccadilly, for the XC & Connections Advance fares; but different clusters for Any Permitted fares).

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Bonkers! @alistairlees, thanks for the explanation.

 

[73128]

Advance tickets always come in different prices each with quotas and the cheapest fare(s) may have reduced or no quota on certain trains, dates or times. Hence journeys may appear more expensive (or cheaper) than previously.