trainsplit upgrade

[tractakid]

TrainSplit.com now splits advance fares.

It is now incredibly good at finding the absolute cheapest possible tickets for the fastest itinerary at a given time. (without BoJ/routing cleverness, or "exploits")

The things it doesn't do are the things that let it down, somewhat.

It is still possible to manually beat trainsplit prices, I reckon. An itinerary/split I found from Milton Keynes to Blackpool North last year was cheaper with an hour's break at Birmingham, and I am not sure if TS would ever find this, as it wouldn't necessarily see a reason to get off the train there when the train goes onwards to reach the destination quicker.

Secondly, I find that the display used by NRE for finding the cheapest through fares is excellent- particularly the 'cheapest fare finder', which finds the cheapest fare in a given window, including the whole day. In comparison trainsplit will only display a few itineraries, close together in time, at once, and not scan too much further afield for a cheaper fare. This is fine if one has to travel at a specific time, but not so good if one is willing to base the timing of their journey on the cost of travel. It is particularly difficult/time consuming to scan both axes forwards and backwards to find the cheapest combination of outward and return itineraries.

Despite these two things, and possible bugs in the system*, the upgrade is brilliant and the website is an invaluable tool.

*Yes, I have found one. Llandudno-Delamere, saving 20p (16-25 railcard) splitting at Mouldsworth. Some itineraries on the website offer the split, others don't, despite all trains calling at Mouldsworth. Bizarre? 0745 out and 1129 return trips (Saturday) should offer the split, but don't.

 

[CyrusWuff]

As with TicketySplit, I plugged in Kings Cross to Leeds and it failed to offer a split in either Standard or First Class that I found through a WebTIS-powered site.

And possibly a little unfair, but it also won't offer me a Didcot Parkway split for journeys along the GWML with a Network Railcard, nor a Banbury split for Singles to the West Midlands in a similar situation.

If it can't handle splitting on a service with five intermediate stops, it doesn't offer a lot of hope for one with more...

 

[SickyNicky]

I think it's getting better with each update, but there are still issues with the journey planner we have to use which means that sometimes journeys don't split when they should. Rest assured that we're working on that.

We do know about the issue with geographically restricted (and time restricted) railcards. Split advances aren't optimal yet either. But we have some great stuff in development that I think you'll all love, plus some more GUI updates.

So stick with us - it will keep improving over the next few months.

 

[Kristofferson]

So the million-dollar question... Is it cheaper, on average, to use this or BRFares?

 

[SickyNicky]

So the million-dollar question... Is it cheaper, on average, to use this or BRFares?

You mean search BRFares for all possible splits? That's always going to find the cheapest walk-up tickets (if you put the work in). But the aim is for TrainSplit to be completely optimal - and we will achieve this in due course.

 

[oddiesjack]

Do your algorithms consider use of Rover/Wayfarer/Ranger types of tickets?

I checked Chinley-Holyhead return on a senior railcard, but got a better price manually by using a GM Wayfarer, A North Wales all zone rover, and a Bank-Quay to Chester day return.
This would be even better for someone starting from Grindleford at the limit of the Wayfarer zone

 

[SickyNicky]

Do your algorithms consider use of Rover/Wayfarer/Ranger types of tickets?

I agree that rovers and rangers can offer the best deal in many situations.

These products are not yet able to be sold via ToD, so we can't offer them. We're considering the idea of offering them by post if the booking is early enough to allow this, but this would need accreditation so would need to be in the next major update.