VTWC Advance Tickets Sat 19th May

[raveon]

Hi,

I have been looking for advanced tickets from either Warrington Bank Quay or Manchester to London for Sat 19th May, however there don't seem to be any available on any train that day, despite it being open for reservations and there being no planned engineering works. I contacted VT via twitter, who advised they must have all 'sold out'. I find this very hard to believe so far ahead. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Smethwickian]

FA Cup final at Wembley that day plus royal wedding in Windsor - are advances sometimes harder to come by for busiest 'day trip' trains on such days?

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

FA Cup final at Wembley that day plus royal wedding in Windsor - are advances sometimes harder to come by for busiest 'day trip' trains on such days?

Sometimes they simply aren't released for certain dates or trains, which is achieved by artificially making the train appear fully reserved if booking engines look for seats on the Advance tiers. They have more than enough demand as it is with those events - they don't need to entice budget travellers to fill up the trains!

 

[Deafdoggie]

FA Cup final at Wembley that day plus royal wedding in Windsor - are advances sometimes harder to come by for busiest 'day trip' trains on such days?

For those of us who have no interest in football, amessage on the website saying it’s the cup final, for example, would soon put us off travelling!

 

[Merseysider]

That’s very odd - I got a couple of £11 sale tickets for May 19th recently. Perhaps it’s temporary

 

[Puffing Devil]

Unless you're going to the wedding, you'll be taking a gamble on the train tickets until the semi-finals have been played, so I don't think they'll be selling out just yet.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Rule Number one of ticketing -Theirs no god given right to advance purchase tickets.

 

[Merseysider]

Rule Number one of ticketing - there’s no god given right to advance purchase tickets.

No but the walk-up fares are bloody expensive so it’s poor form.

 

[boxy321]

Do not, I repeat DO NOT go to London on FA Cup day. I had to once when Villa played Arsenal (I was travelling standard from Coventry).

Stood by the toilets the whole journey and waited for space for passengers to clear platforms at Euston for over an hour. It was then physically impossible to get to the Underground stations due to the hoards.

 

[Bletchleyite]

No but the walk-up fares are bloody expensive so it’s poor form.

Have you considered splitting at Crewe and using LNR, if you want cheap walk-ups?

 

[Merseysider]

Have you considered splitting at Crewe and using LNR, if you want cheap walk-ups?

We are aware of that, but your average passenger who turns up at Piccadilly and asks for a ticket to London isn’t going to be suggested such a split unfortunately.

 

[Bletchleyite]

We are aware of that, but your average passenger who turns up at Piccadilly and asks for a ticket to London isn’t going to be suggested such a split unfortunately.

Indeed they aren't, though if they use trainsplit.com or similar that will suggest it. However, I am suggesting it for the OP's case if price is more important than journey time.

 

[raveon]

Thanks for the advice. Having looked at the teams left in the FA cup, I will wait until the outcome of the semi-finals - Man Utd are the only North West team so if they don't make the final maybe advanced tickets will be made available.

 

[Gareth Marston]

No but the walk-up fares are bloody expensive so it’s poor form.

The primary purpose of InterCity TOC Advance Purchase fares is to not share flow revenue with other TOC's. When there's likely very high demand sharing the walk on "LondonTerminals " revenue will still generate more than the normal AP tiers. It's a commercial world like it or not.

Is £86.50 for an off peak return from Manchester to London really that expensive? Has the OP looked at alternatives like hiring a vehicle, a taxi or the real cost of driving their own vehicle?

The 19th is a Saturday so no wacky peak restrictions from Virgin

 

[Merseysider]

Is £86.50 for an off peak return from Manchester to London really that expensive?

Yes, it is.

A flexible fare from Dresden to Berlin is about £30 each way, so two thirds of the UK fare for a similar journey to the capital. Graz to Vienna is a touch over £30 each way, again fully flexible. Burgos to Madrid is about £35 each way, flexible.

So yes, it’s expensive

 

[Gareth Marston]

Yes, it is.

A flexible fare from Dresden to Berlin is about £30 each way, so two thirds of the UK fare for a similar journey to the capital. Graz to Vienna is a touch over £30 each way, again fully flexible. Burgos to Madrid is about £35 each way, flexible.

So yes, it’s expensive

A comparison like this is practically meaningless as the different taxation systems in each of those countries distorts things. Generally countries in continental Europe have higher direct taxation meaning lower take home pay than the UK where we then tend to tax more on purchase and less directly (International studies conclude that the overall "tax burden" is similar) therefore many things appear cheaper on the Continent but as a % of their take home pay are not wildly different to that found in the UK. If you looked at the average wage of several industry's in Manchester, Dresden and Burgos and analyzed those against the rail fares as a percentage of disposable income against single. married people etc you would perhaps get a fairer picture.

 

[30907]

Yes, it is.

A flexible fare from Dresden to Berlin is about £30 each way, so two thirds of the UK fare for a similar journey to the capital. Graz to Vienna is a touch over £30 each way, again fully flexible. Burgos to Madrid is about £35 each way, flexible.

So yes, it’s expensive

WC saver fares are cheap by UK intercity standards, but more to the point:
Dresden to Berlin is about 120 miles, so two thirds of the distance as well.
Graz to Vienna is about 130. Burgos is a fair comparison though so you score 1/3.
Now if you were quoting anytime fares.... but then you'd factor in speed and frequency.