Weekend trip to Glasgow

[AC47461]

I'm looking to book a trip to Glasgow some time soon (within the next 3 months or so) to do some class 314 hunting (amongst other things) but am a bit puzzled about the 'Advanced' fares and when they appear for booking. Although I know from a friend they start around £33 single (and yes, I guess the cheapest go very quickly), I couldn't see anywhere so I asked Virgin trains why this was and the attached is what they sent me, along with this text:

"Hi Adrian, Please see the attached image to explain how far ahead we are currently allowing bookings for Advance tickets. - Carl".

I'm looking at Sept / Oct in reality, but it's confusing things with the Saturday and Sunday dates as I'm looking at Thursday out and Sunday back. And 14/15th July doesn't really seem 'Advanced' to me, is this down to engineering work or something else?

Am I going to have to book one direction one day and wait until another week to try and get a cheaper ticket coming back?

Sorry if this is a bit of a vague post but I'm just trying to find the cheapest ticket(s) without too much fuss. Does anyone have any advise on the best way to go about it?

 

[mmh]

I'm looking to book a trip to Glasgow some time soon (within the next 3 months or so) to do some class 314 hunting (amongst other things) but am a bit puzzled about the 'Advanced' fares and when they appear for booking. Although I know from a friend they start around £33 single (and yes, I guess the cheapest go very quickly), I couldn't see anywhere so I asked Virgin trains why this was and the attached is what they sent me, along with this text:

"Hi Adrian, Please see the attached image to explain how far ahead we are currently allowing bookings for Advance tickets. - Carl".

I'm looking at Sept / Oct in reality, but it's confusing things with the Saturday and Sunday dates as I'm looking at Thursday out and Sunday back. And 14/15th July doesn't really seem 'Advanced' to me, is this down to engineering work or something else?

Unfortunately yes - it'll be because Network Rail haven't confirmed weekend works beyond that weekend.

Am I going to have to book one direction one day and wait until another week to try and get a cheaper ticket coming back?

It is very awkward when this happens. One thing that might possibly be of help is the "Off Peak Single (Online)" ticket type that Virgin sell if you buy through their website. It's a one-way version of an off-peak return but priced at half the price of the off-peak return (rather than the one pound or so difference there normally is). You can only buy it in combination with an Advance ticket in the opposite direction, if you see what I mean.

http://trainsupport.custhelp.com/ap...rgin-trains-ticket-–-off-peak-single-(online)

Passengers who are unable to buy a Virgin Advance ticket for both the outward and return legs of their journey, or unable to specify an exact train for one leg of a return journey, are able to mix and match ticket types and buy an Off-Peak Single (Online) on Virgin Trains routes (at half the price of an Off-Peak Return) for either the outward or return leg of the journey. This money-saving facility is available for website bookings only.

You could buy your Thursday advance in combination with this for the return in case advance tickets don't become available (or you miss them, etc) for the Sunday. If they do, you can get a refund on the off-peak single (online) ticket, but with a 10.00 charge

Important - Ticket Refund conditions

This ticket is only valid as part of a return journey. If the other portion of the return journey is cancelled, this ticket (online Off-Peak single) must be cancelled at the same time. A £10 charge will apply for any refund.

 

[AC47461]

Many thanks for that mmh, very helpful.

I've seen the off-peak single (online), but really need to keep the costs as far down as possible although they are an option if all else fails.

It is a bit of a mess thought isn't it....especially when Advanced fares can't be sold that much in advance (although I appreciate it's not entirely VWC's fault)

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Many thanks for that mmh, very helpful.

I've seen the off-peak single (online), but really need to keep the costs as far down as possible although they are an option if all else fails.

It is a bit of a mess thought isn't it....especially when Advanced fares can't be sold that much in advance (although I appreciate it's not entirely VWC's fault)

According to this National Rail page, you can get a full, fee-free refund on any tickets you buy if Advances later become available (and are currently not, despite the fact that they ought to be) and you buy said Advances.

Perhaps it might be an idea to lock in the price of the Advance in one direction, get an Off-Peak Single (Online) in the other direction and then set up an alert on a site like thetrainline.co.uk (obviously don't book through them!) to tell you when Advances become available for the other direction. If so, make sure to take a screenshot of the National Rail page to show that it influenced your buying decision - if so, it is a term of the contract that changes/refunds may be made for free!

 

[Kite159]

One thing to consider is booking a ticket for the East Coast using a "LNER + connections" ticket. Sometimes those are reasonably priced (and better than waiting to find out that the WCML is reduced so the cheaper advances are not available)

 

[mmh]

According to this National Rail page, you can get a full, fee-free refund on any tickets you buy if Advances later become available (and are currently not, despite the fact that they ought to be) and you buy said Advances.

That's very interesting and possibly very useful, thank you.

If so, make sure to take a screenshot of the National Rail page to show that it influenced your buying decision - if so, it is a term of the contract that changes/refunds may be made for free!

Yes, that's the only downside, will the system or people doing the refund accept that rule! Having said that, I've never had a problem on the handful of refunds and delay compensations I've had from VWC, but they've all been quite straightforward.