What to do during travel disruption

When there’s disruption, operators need to do everything they can to keep you moving, where they’re able to. It’s even in the National Rail Conditions of Travel, which say: 

“Where disruption prevents you from completing the journey for which your Ticket is valid and is being used, any Train Company will, where it reasonably can, provide you with alternative means of travel to your destination, or if necessary, provide overnight accommodation for you.”

National Rail Conditions of Travel, Section 28.2

If you have an advance ticket 

If your train is cancelled, you can jump on the next one operated by the same company. There’s no need to ask permission first. Train companies may also agree to accept each other’s tickets, meaning that you can travel on a different company. If this happens, staff will let you know.

No more trains operated by the company you booked with? Another operator should allow you to travel with them instead.

If this isn’t possible, you should be provided with replacement transport or accommodation. You should not be left stranded or made to buy another ticket.

If you have a flexible ticket 

You can use any trains within the route, operator and/or time restrictions of your ticket. In many cases, these restrictions will be lifted. Your rights to alternative transport, accommodation and refunds are the same as those stated above for Advance tickets. 

Split tickets 

Split tickets don’t affect your right to compensation or to alternative transport during rail travel disruption, so long as you make sure you leave enough time between each train. All of your tickets still form a journey, in the same way that a through ticket does.

If you miss a connecting train, you can still get another one. Just make sure you follow any restrictions on your ticket.

If you can’t go any further by train 

Let railway staff know as soon as possible. This should ideally be when you’re at a staffed station or still travelling on a train. They should make the relevant arrangements for you, which will usually involve providing a bus or taxi.

In some situations, train operators may be unable to provide alternative arrangements during rail disruption. If this happens, they might tell you to book a taxi or hotel then contact them to claim back the cost.

You’ll need to keep hold of all your tickets and receipts and send them to the customer relations department of the operator that caused you to become stranded.

You can click here to find out more about what to do in rail disruption

The post Rail travel disruption – What do I do? appeared first on SmartSplit.co.uk.

Advance train tickets are always cheapest

It would make sense that this would be true. After all, they come with more restrictions and you need to book them in advance. But you need to be careful, as sometimes an Advance ticket isn’t much cheaper than the flexible option. Let’s also take a look at an example (24 hours in advance) where it’s cheaper to buy a flexible ticket:

As you can see, you can buy two Advance singles for this Newcastle to York (and return) trip on the same day. The total will come to £48.70.

But if you select ‘Return’, it’s £47.30. This ticket will also let you travel on trains other than the one you select. Whenever you book on SmartSplit, you’ll have the options of ‘Singles’ or ‘Returns’. Be sure to check out both. We’ll always offer you the cheapest return or combination of single tickets (depending on which you select) for your journey.

If a flexible ticket is only a little more expensive, it’s often worth picking it. After all, that small difference gives you the freedom to travel on a different train. Plus, you can refund it if you’re not able to use it.

If my train is cancelled, I need to buy another ticket

While you can’t necessarily jump on whatever train you want straight away, this is one of the common rail travel myths. If you’re travelling on an Advance ticket, at minimum, you’ll be allowed to travel on the next train operated by the same company. This usually extends to the train before, as well.

On flexible tickets (such as Off-Peak or Anytime), there’s no need to get any permission to take another train unless it’s restricted to a certain route or company. In this case, you should take the next available train that your ticket would allow.

In widespread disruption, there’ll be ticket acceptance arranged on a different route or company. The National Rail website or railway staff will let you know if this is the case. In any circumstance, rail companies cannot leave you stranded or out-of-pocket during disruption.

The National Rail Conditions of Travel state that:

Where disruption prevents you from completing the journey for which your Ticket is valid and is being used, any Train Company will, where it reasonably can, provide you with alternative means of travel to your destination, or if necessary, provide overnight accommodation for you.

National Rail Conditions of Travel, Section 28.2

If you have a ‘split’ ticket (where you use a combination of tickets to make a journey), exactly the same advice applies. You’ll of course need to make sure you’ve left enough time for changing trains, though. We’ve produced a full guide to disruption (including what to do when it happens) here.

I need a seat reservation to travel

This is one of the rail travel myths that came about with COVID-19. Back when social distancing was a thing, rail operators would ‘enforce’ this by making sure that they didn’t sell more tickets than there were seats. How did they do it? They forced websites (including us!) to make a ticket come with a seat reservation.

Now that Covid restrictions have ended, you’d expect this to have stopped. The thing is – it hasn’t! The data that gets attached to trains when they appear on ticket-selling websites still says the same thing. So, when the reservable seats run out, it’s impossible to buy a ticket.

There are some ways around this. For example, you could buy the ticket but select a different train, so long as you know it’s valid on the train you also want. This can be tricky to know for some types, so you’re always welcome to contact us if you have a problem or you’re unsure.

With the exception of overnight ‘Sleeper’ trains, there are no trains in Great Britain that require a seat reservation in normal circumstances. In fact, there’s a handy little SmartSplit article on where to find an unreserved seat!

You always have to travel on the train specified on your ticket

Yes, on Advance tickets, you have to do this. As you’d expect, it’s valid only on your booked train. As we’ve mentioned above though, Anytime, Off-Peak and Super-Off-Peak tickets are valid on more than one train.

Even though you’ll often need to pick a service in order to book your time, it’s definitely one of the most frustrating rail myths that by picking a train, you’re stuck with it! Here’s what your ticket might look like:

As you can see, the journey details are listed as ‘Optional Reservations’. This means exactly what it sounds like – there’s no need to follow them to the letter! So long as your ticket is valid on the train you’re catching, you don’t need a reservation. Having a train specified on a flexible ticket doesn’t take away any of its validity.

‘Peak’ trains are the busiest or most expensive

This is one of the rail travel myths that in some ways, used to be true. Before COVID-19 struck, it was undeniable that peak trains were some of the busiest. They were undoubtedly the most expensive, too.

In some ways, long-distance rail operators don’t help with this. For example, by marking a train as ‘peak’ (and usually charging higher for Advance tickets, too), it’s going to discourage people from using it. By contrast, the first train where it’s no longer considered ‘peak’ will be a lot busier.

COVID-19 and the rise of flexible working has also changed what we consider to be ‘peak’. If you’re travelling to London, a Friday morning is often the quietest time to go. Wednesdays are usually the busiest weekday, by comparison.

Put simply, there’s no ‘clear-cut’ peak anymore. When it comes to Advance train tickets too, some operators might have lower prices on what were traditionally ‘peak’ trains, to try and encourage people to travel in the empty seats once used by weekday commuters.

Are there any other rail travel myths I should know about?

The final one you might want to know about is that no ticket-selling website has access to ‘special’ discounted fares that nobody else does (in normal circumstances). They can however choose to only show you certain fares and make it harder to see the cheapest ones that might be on a slower route. We’ve written a handy guide to finding the best fare, too.

It’s up to them what fees they charge, too. Here at SmartSplit, we don’t charge any at all. You can refund a flexible ticket (or change an Advance ticket) and you’ll only pay the difference. Nothing more.

The post Rail travel myths: Debunked! appeared first on SmartSplit.co.uk.

Look at slower routes 

Let’s start with looking at slower trains. SmartSplit will pick out the slower routes that you might not have thought of, particularly when it comes to travelling to and from London. The best examples include going between Manchester and London, and Birmingham and London. Take a look at how much we could save you on a last-minute London to Manchester trip:

You could also click here for our full guide on alternative routes to try that could save you a packet!

Pick the right time to travel

It seems obvious, but avoiding busier times can help, too. This doesn’t necessarily mean avoiding the traditional ‘peak’ times either. Did you know, for example, that the Friday morning ‘peak’ towards London is one of the quietest times to travel? Meanwhile, a Wednesday can be one of the busiest.

Know when to book in advance

Booking in advance is another example of how to get cheaper train tickets. You can even book advance tickets on some routes right up to the time that your train is due to leave! So long as you’ve paid and got your ticket before you jump on, you’re good to go. Just be careful that you don’t book too far in advance, as some sites will sell you a full-price flexible ticket without any reservations.

Let our guide to advance train tickets tell you more.

Single or return?

You should also make sure that a return ticket isn’t cheaper than buying advance single tickets. If you’re travelling at the last minute and need to make a return trip, a flexible return ticket (such as Off-Peak or Super Off-Peak) might be cheaper. It’ll give you more options, too!

Unsure what Off-Peak is? Click here, we’ve got you covered. The National Rail website will also tell you about when tickets are valid.

Book smarter!

Most train ticket retailers charge a fee for booking or refunding your tickets. In fact, refund and exchange fees could cost you up to £10 if you need to cancel your trip or change your journey to a different time. SmartSplit is committed to never charging you fees for bookings or refunds, so when you book through us, you’ll be saving too.

Ready to book? Visit the SmartSplit website.

The post How to get cheaper train tickets appeared first on SmartSplit.co.uk.