Trivia: Cheapest possible rail ticket you can buy

[RailWonderer]

Without a railcard, Prestwick Airport to Prestwick Town was the cheapest I found at £1.60 return on a Sunday. Anything on the former NSE region is almost always at least £2.50, so are there any ex-regional railways or Scotrail (or even Welsh) stations close enough together where it is possible to buy a ticket for under £1?

 

[Steddenm]

Cheapest I've found is Lichtield City - Lichfield TV, £1.10 single, £1.30 return without a railcard (75p and 85p respectively, with)

 

[Howardh]

Heathrow T5 to T2/3 via the Elizabeth line should be free?? Dunno though if you put that into the ATM whether you would get a ticket with £0 on? Presume you would to get through any barriers? But pedantically one hasn't "bought" it if it's free?!!

 

[Hadders]

Lichfield City to Lichfield Trent Valley Anytime Day Single is £1.10. Anytime Day Return is £1.30. These are adult prices, child ones are half price.

In the NSE Area Ryde Esplanade to Ryde St Johns Road Sunday Day Out or Evening Out is £1.00 single/£1.50 return.

 

[TFN]

Heathrow T5 to T2/3 via the Elizabeth line should be free?? Dunno though if you put that into the ATM whether you would get a ticket with £0 on? Presume you would to get through any barriers? But pedantically one hasn't "bought" it if it's free?!!

Heathrow T5 to T2/3 and T4 and any other combination is free on HEX and Elizabeth Line. Free blue inter terminal transfer tickets are available at all the Heathrow rail stations.

 

[Peter0124]

Glasgow Central to Argyle Street is £1.50

 

[Howardh]

Heathrow T5 to T2/3 and T4 and any other combination is free on HEX and Elizabeth Line. Free blue inter terminal transfer tickets are available at all the Heathrow rail stations.

Thanks!!

£1.50 single Ryde Esplanade to Pier Head.

Been looking up some obvious short journeys and Manchester Oxford Rd to Deansgate £2.70 and Brighton to Hove £3.30...(both singles) wow, just wow!!

£1.90 Wrexham Central to Wrexham General single but there doesn't appear to be a return ticket - looked for tomorrow.

£1.70 Culraine to Invershin single, but £2.80 day ret.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Been looking up some obvious short journeys and Manchester Oxford Rd to Deansgate £2.70...

Is this issued to Manchester CTLZ, and so also allows travel in the Manchester Metrolink tram system City Zone (Zone 1)?

 

[Grumpy Git]

Cheapest adult fare on Merseyrail is £1.55 single (between two adjacent stops).

 

[CyrusWuff]

Cheapest I've found is Lichtield City - Lichfield TV, £1.10 single, £1.30 return without a railcard (75p and 85p respectively, with)

Not surprisingly, it gets used a lot for testing as a result!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Lichfield City to Lichfield Trent Valley Anytime Day Single is £1.10. Anytime Day Return is £1.30. These are adult prices,

Not surprisingly, it gets used a lot for testing as a result!

Wonder how many are sold and actual journeys made?
(It's about a mile and a half between the two stations, so, as short distance fares go, not a complete rip-off).

 

[Howardh]

Is this issued to Manchester CTLZ, and so also allows travel in the Manchester Metrolink tram system City Zone (Zone 1)?

Yes, I think so, not entirely sure though!

However I assume if you bought one journey, from (say) Salford Crescent to any Manchester Central Station, you could travel Crescent > Victoria, then double back to Piccadilly and that doubling back would be "free". However if you left the station at Piccadilly the ticket would be cancelled as it's a single and therefore ends validity?

So as for the thread title, something like Salford Crescent to Manchester Central Zone, return, (£3.40) gives you the freedom of all Manchester Central stations all day* (??) which are Salford Central, Victoria, Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Deansgate - so although not the cheapest ticket as per OP but good value if you like travelling around the centre? Might even allow tram travel as quoted??

*Not sure if that off-peak ticket would allow x-Manchester CTZ travel in the evening peak hours though.

 

[Steddenm]

Is this issued to Manchester CTLZ, and so also allows travel in the Manchester Metrolink tram system City Zone (Zone 1)?

No, it's just issued to Manchester Stations as far as I know. Don't think you can buy a CTLZ ticket wholly within the city.

 

[_toommm_]

Child Priv Stourbridge Town to Stourbridge Junction 15p:

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

 

[Benjwri]

No, it's just issued to Manchester Stations as far as I know. Don't think you can buy a CTLZ ticket wholly within the city.

Opposite direction is issued to Manchester CTLZ (Deansgate G-MEX to Manchester CTLZ), priced at £2.80 Anytime Day Single (SDS)

 

[Autoticketgate]

Glasgow Central to Argyle Street is £1.50

Inspired by this, a Super Off-Peak Day Return between these two stations is £1 exactly, undiscounted: https://www.brfares.com/!faredetail?orig=GLC&dest=AGS&grpo=0433&tkt=OPB
Of course the super off peak is a pain to buy (have to use a smartcard at a scotrail TVM or the website, or m-tickets (no e-tickets because ScotRail)) and quite restricted but it does exist! Plus at 50p each way it might be the cheapest return/ cheapest per journey overall.

 

[Howardh]

Is there any ticket where a return is the same as (or even less than) a single? In which case the return leg would be free? I once noted that an advance first on Virgin was cheaper than an advanced standard, so nothing r/e ticketing surprises me any more!

Adds - of course there are often offers such as newspaper ones where you can cut out vouchers for cheaper tickets, and also if you use cetrain credit cards there's cashback so a £1.50 journey might only be £1.35 after that. So to find the "cheapest ticket" depends on, I suppose, how far down the food-chain of offers, advances, cashbacks, railcards* etc one is prepared to go.

*The OP has asked not to include railcards of course!

 

[bikesntrains77]

Is there any ticket where a return is the same as (or even less than) a single?

Dumfries to Carlisle CDR is £6.70 but a SOS is £12.80

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

 

[bob007]

Anything on the former NSE region is almost always at least £2.50

No kidding! Worthing to West Worthing is £3.30 for a single. It's 2 minutes and 0.7 miles. Ouch.

 

[MrJeeves]

Brighton to Hove £3.30

I believe this is partially to prevent cheap PlusBus vs a day ticket on B&H/Metrobus (Go-Ahead company).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Mar 2023 ==

Anything on the former NSE region is almost always at least £2.50,

Another exception is BUG (Burgess Hill) to WVF (Wivelsfield) for £2.30

Interestingly, BUG-HHE (Haywards Heath) and WVF-HHE singles are both £3.30, but the WVF return is £4 and the BUG return is £4.20. Not seen that before.

 

[MikeWh]

I believe this is partially to prevent cheap PlusBus vs a day ticket on B&H/Metrobus (Go-Ahead company).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Mar 2023 ==


Another exception is BUG-WVF for £2.30

Interestingly, BUG-HHE and WVF-HHE singles are both £3.30, but the WVF return is £4 and the BUG return is £4.20. Not seen that before.

BUG?
HHE?
WVF?

 

[MrJeeves]

BUG?
HHE?
WVF?

Fixed

 

[Alex365Dash]

Interestingly, BUG-HHE (Haywards Heath) and WVF-HHE singles are both £3.30, but the WVF return is £4 and the BUG return is £4.20. Not seen that before.

Southern don’t seem to price singles cheaper than £3.30. The distance matters more on the return tickets where Newhaven Town - Newhaven Harbour is £3.60 and Hove - Southwick is £3.90.

 

[wilbers]

Dumfries to Carlisle CDR is £6.70 but a SOS is £12.80

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

Also of note, the open off-peak return (SVR) is more than double the off-peak day return.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Also of note, the open off-peak return (SVR) is more than double the off-peak day return.

The Off Peak Day Return (between Dumfries and Carlisle) also allows travel between 0801 and 0915 (Mon-Fri) which the more than twice as expensive Off Peak Return doesn't.