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VTEC advance quotas

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YorkC

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26 May 2013
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Might just be me being unlucky here, but have advance quotas changed since Virgin took over from EC?

Due to an annoying short-term work contract, I've been commuting down the ECML up to 3 days a week for 15 of the last 20ish weeks. Booking 12 weeks in advance (on the Friday morning that tickets go on sale), I've always been able to get tickets in the £13 advance tier on the 19.00 from King's Cross to York.

This week is the first time I've bought tickets since VTEC took over the ECML, and tickets went on sale a couple of hours ago for week beginning 25/5/14. The 19.00 train has zero advances at all on Tuesday 26th, £37.50 on Thursday and Friday, with £13 advances on the Monday and Wednesday only. I don't usually look at other times too much, but my hunch is that others seem to be generally more expensive too, though I might be wrong...

Got to be honest - I don't know anything about whether they'd be able or allowed to do this, and it's possible (even highly likely) that I've just been unlucky here. Had this happened last week when the website was EC-branded, I'd have chalked it down to bad luck, but that it's happened this week makes me a little bit suspicious. Might I be right to be?

(BTW, not asking for splits / ways to save on this journey. I'm pretty confident that the experience of the last 20 weeks has enabled me to discover all the cheapest ways to buy tickets on this route. I'm just curious as to whether anything dodgy could be going on here...)
 
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strowger

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Might just be me being unlucky here, but have advance quotas changed since Virgin took over from EC?

I don't know either but I've just bought GC advances because some EC ones that I'd expected to be cheap (in May) were crazy priced.

Also may not be an Virgin thing but I'd got used to (for First) sometimes splitting Leeds-Kings Cross at Wakefield, to get a much cheaper advance on the Wakefield-Kings Cross leg than the price offered from Leeds - but the Wakefield fares were all the same price as Leeds.
 

ASharpe

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I bought one east coast ticket this morning from Leeds to London for the Bank Holiday on 25 May. It was the lowest price tier.

I also looked at tickets northbound for the following Friday night. The 19:33 is half the price it has been for the last few months at around £15 with a railcard. But still twice what the 19:52 Grand Central train will cost.

So I've certainly not noticed any price increases.
 

Hadders

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I think I've read somewhere that Rewards tickets are available when the lowest 3 tiers of Advance tickets are still available.
 

ASharpe

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I think I've read somewhere that Rewards tickets are available when the lowest 3 tiers of Advance tickets are still available.

I can believe that. I certainly see them on trains where the lowest tier isn't available, it's why I'm holding on to my last few.
 

philjo

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It is May Bank Holiday on the Monday so schools are on half term that week which may affect availability.
EC tended not to allow use of rewards tickets during the couple of days before/after each bank holiday.
 

ainsworth74

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I noticed when trying to book tickets earlier (around 11ish) for 28 May that seemingly only some trains had advance tickets available (about one in four). However now there appears to be availability on all trains (and plenty of bottom tier tickets as well). Perhaps a mistake when they first uploaded the fares rather than anything more sinister?
 

YorkC

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26 May 2013
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Same problems again this week. Staggered half term in different local areas?
 
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