When I was travelling back from Chicago, I was in a position where I needed to get home (as 1) BA couldn’t find a stand for the aircraft I was on and 2) I had missed the coach I wanted to take home).
Now, there are many ways to travel, but one of the ways of cutting costs are Advance Purchase Rail Tickets – the idea is very much like airplane tickets (you choose a train that you travel on and your ticket is valid for that train only).
But how late can you buy them?
Avanti West Coast Pendolino arriving at Birmingham International – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
Firstly, not all routes will offer advance tickets
Typically, commuter routes and short-distance routes will not offer advance tickets on their routes. Advance tickets also have a lot of additional restrictions compared with an “open” ticket or a “saver” ticket, with the trade-off being that you’re fixing yourself to a particular train and seat.
In addition, c2c, Mersey Rail, Great Northern, Thameslink, Transport for London are off this list as they deal very much in “on-the-day” traffic.
It should be noted that Caledonian Sleeper and Lumo have their own advanced purchase options that are outside the remit of this article.
As for Heathrow Express, you have a seven-day deadline to get a discounted fare… so good luck getting an on-the-day discount (it’s called taking the TfL service to London Paddington and paying £10.80 instead of £25).
National Rail Enquiries does cover the subject lightly. I’ve broken down the subject in a little more detail. If in doubt, check with your operator in the first instance.
Some companies will require you to buy tickets the day before travel
Let us start with companies who require you to buy an advance purchase ticket the day before travel (and normally by a specific time). This is either 18:00 or 23:59
- Chiltern Railways – Purchase by 18:00, on the day before travel
- East Midlands Railway – Purchase by 23:59, on the day before travel
- Great Western Railway – Purchase by 18:00, on the day before travel
- Hull Trains – Purchase by 23:59, on the day before travel
- London Northwestern Railway – Purchase by 23:59, on the day before travel
- SouthEastern – Purchase by 23:59, on the day before travel
- South Western Railway – Purchase by 23:59, on the day before travel
- Southern – Purchase by 18:00, on the day before travel
- Transport for Wales – Purchase by 18:00, on the day before travel
- West Midlands Railway – Purchase by 23:59, on the day before travel
If you plan to travel early in the morning, book the day before – but later trains can be booked at a shorter deadline
Some companies offer discounts on the day, however for their early morning departures, you’ll need to book your train the day before.
- London North Eastern Railway – Up to 23:59 day before travel for some early morning trains. Up to 2 hours before the train’s departing point of origin for the rest of the day’s services.
- ScotRail – Up to 23:59 day before travel for some early morning trains. Up to 2 hours before the train’s departing point of origin for the rest of the day’s services.
- TransPennine Express – The majority of Advance tickets must be purchased before 18:00 the day before travel. However, a limited number of Advance Purchase of the Day tickets on some routes are available up to 15 minutes before departure.
Want to roll the dice on the day?
These are the official booking deadlines.
- Avanti West Coast – 60 minutes before the train starts its entire journey (via the app)
- CrossCountry – Allows advanced purchases up to 15 minutes before departure.
- Grand Central – Up to 4 hours before your train sets off from its first station
- Greater Anglia – Where Advance tickets are available (except Southend services), you can now buy Advance Purchase on the day tickets up to 10 minutes before the departure of your chosen train.
- Northern -“Save on the Day” Advance tickets are available up to 15 minutes before departure on the day of travel on some routes. Advance tickets on all their available routes can be purchased up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Are those deadlines “absolute?”
In most cases – they are. In some cases… well… we’re heading into grey territory. But it might mean either paying a booking fee or using apps to help you out.
Most of you know The Train Line (with its fees) – but I stick to other apps – namely:
- TrainPal – https://www.mytrainpal.com/
- TrainSplit by Raileasy – https://raileasy.trainsplit.com/
In my experience, I’ve been able to book CrossCountry train tickets 30 minutes before departure and recently, an Avanti West Coast ticket – with less than 20 minutes before departure.
Fees can vary, depending on the route and ticket, thus it is worth comparing with the train operators if you have time
Here is an example I used myself
We can see the cheapest train to Birmingham is the slightly slower 12:49 operated by London NorthWestern (although is a “Super Saver” ticket, with a selection of trains. The Avanti service, which is what I’m targeting £20.90, whilst the Chiltern service is £33.30.
Also, TrainPal handles split tickets within the app too – something rather handy (and that’s saved me a lot of money).
The fare I selected was the 12:59 ticket – which was booked in a taxi heading out of Paddington at around 12:30!
These tickets aren’t unusual – here’s an example from a few evenings ago for on the day travel :
Be careful when rolling the dice – but for the last-minute traveller – invaluable
If your travel plans have been thrown in the bin thanks to an airport and airline thinking your plane sat on the tarmac is more important than funnelling the passengers into the terminal and out of the place quickly, then last-minute advance tickets can provide a good way of continuing your travels, without breaking the bank.
You may be able to use an app like TrainPal, or you might be digging around train operator websites (such as the joy of the CrossCountry site).
However, for the last-minute traveller – it is a good way to score a discount
Just ensure you don’t miss your train – otherwise, you could wind up paying again for your ticket, wiping out any savings you tried to make.
Notes: Based on https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/advance-tickets.aspx and https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/166857.aspx. Additional research and field testing were carried out by your editor and writer.
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