Southampton to London by train for £1 !!!

Many folk wanting to travel between London and Southampton do not realise that if you pre-book you can travel by rail for £1 per person plus booking fee each way.

If you are interested, search or google <megatrain.com>. It really is a stunning bargain but sadly something of a well kept secret. Even many local Brits don't know about it. Like many bargains there are a few minor catches so be sure to read the booking conditions, but overall it is a steal.

Hope that this helps.

regards from the Oldsilverfox.

It may be a wonderful bargain if you can find train times that match what you want, but when I try a return trip on random dates of 23 March and 26 March, it returns three trains (0955, 1255 and 2055) in the whole day for the outbound (Southampton -> London) journey, and no available trains on the return.

The context is that there are actually three trains per hour during the main part of the day from Southampton to London.

Basically, it is a lo-cost booking operation with three trains each way per day at this price. As you say, the service between Southampton to London is very good but it ain't cheap, so if you can travel to and from London for £1 by prudently booking early it has got to be a bargain worth exploring.

We use it for shopping trips, theatre excursions

The timing of the trains (middle of the day) may well suit passengers from the cruise terminal who are visiting London on a post cruise package and I thought that I was trying to help CC members by bringing it to their notice.

Very true. I was probably being over-negative about it because I would always pay more for the flexibility of normal tickets.

I notice, though, that you can't actually book very far in advance - only up to the end of March at the moment.

One strategy that is often overlooked is that if you were to book two consecutive trips on the same day, if for any reason you were delayed during disembarkation and missed the first train, you can always catch the later train and are still in profit !!!

We had to abort a trip to London recently on the megatrain due to a last minute glitch, but at least we weren't losing megabucks as a result.

Best wishes

David.

I'll definitely be looking into this mode of transportation for our June journey. One thing though, I can't seem to find info on their luggage or weight restrictions. Anyone have a clue as to what their limitations might be? Thanks!

Ken

It's a train. Take what you want. You don't check it through, though. You have to keep track of your own luggage. Don't expect a porter, luggage tags, or claim tickets.

Kenton,

Take as much as your arms can carry

What a way to take a vacation !!

If you dig through there website a bit you will find that they use a special car on the train. I'm thinking it might not be the most spacious seating available. It is tempting for a return after a cruise though.

It'll be the start of my cruise so we'll be pretty tolerant of the lack of space (if there is one). Actually, we'll fly in from Madrid, spend a day in London, then train it down to Southampton (for cheap!)

We got a similar fare, but on the coach. We paid a £1 fare from London to Southampton with National Express coaches. I booked it a few weeks ago for this April. I was really excited to be able to save so much money! :D

We looked at National Express, but they don't have the "fun fares" for either the 25th or 26th of June. We'll be keeping an eye on both (train/bus) to make sure we get the best fare (I'm a cheap-@ss) :)

The fun fares just might not have been listed yet. That happened to me too, because I was trying to book too early. I think the fun fares are listed 3 months before the departure date. If you check back a little later you might be able to grab one!

The train is a standard scheduled ten car train but with the one standard carriage reserved for megatrain customers. The other nine cars are full of passengers paying the full fare (can you beieve it !!!!)

We are not talking boxcars here !!!

It is true though that you can only book about a month beforehand

I am not a National Express coachline basher but the train is so much faster and comfortable that it really is no contest.

Okay, so it seems they just tack a car on, meaning you have to sit in THAT car? Cattle car?

Are there services on this route such as bar car, etc? Or too short of a trip?

Interesting options here.

When seeing what I could find, some interesting information came up.

This is the press release announcing the launch of megatrain.

And this is the Wikipedia article about megatrain. Two interesting facts (if true) are the statements that:-

According to The Times on 15 November 2005, a special megatrain carriage has been set aside to avoid the mixing of megatrain and non-megatrain passengers. The article goes on to state, however, that there is nothing to stop those paying ordinary fares sitting in the megatrain carriage, as the signage only instructs megatrain passengers on where to sit - not the normal fare ones.

 

The launch falls under a provision that states that a rail operator may try a new low-cost ticketing system for up to 30 weeks, which means Megatrain may last only 30 weeks from the start date.

Why can't I get on or off the train at intermediate stations?

megatrain is a simple low-cost inter-city fare like the successful megabus which has been run by Stagecoach for over two years.

 

It is not expected to be highly profitable and must attract a good number of new customers to justify itself. In order to do that, it needs to be kept simple for passengers booking and simple for our staff to implement and monitor. Therefore, in this early trial period of the product, megatrain is only being offered on lightly loaded trains and end to end from major cities. If this trial is popular with our passengers, we may extend to offer to more places.

Hi, the coach is the way to travel. There's no trouble with lugging your luggage since they have ample space for all and the driver loads and unloads it for you.

The coaches are very comfortable and they're always much much cheaper than the train. Your seat is guaranteed.

Whereas in railway stations you often have to climb stairs and cross over a bridge to get to the right platform where the train is arriving and going from.It's a hassle with luggage. Plus the train only stops for minutes and you have to get your luggage aboard very quickly as you drag it up the platform and look for a compartment with empty seats. There are no porters or luggage carts available. You can walk the whole length of the platform.

Also, you may not find a seat and end up standing on the train.

I stayed in Oxford for three months and traveled to London at least once a week. I learned the hard way what was the best means of transportation.

Hope this helps. Going to London is worth it all. It's a wonderful city.

Basically, it is a lo-cost booking operation with three trains each way per day at this price. As you say, the service between Southampton to London is very good but it ain't cheap, so if you can travel to and from London for £1 by prudently booking early it has got to be a bargain worth exploring.

The timing of the trains (middle of the day) may well suit passengers from the cruise terminal who are visiting London on a post cruise package and I thought that I was trying to help CC members by bringing it to their notice.

Oldsilverfox - I checked out the Megatrain web site and wow! What a deal, I'm going to travel on the Megatrain from London to the start of my cruise in Southampton. I like to plan ahead but can't make reservations for September yet. I'll have to remember in August to book.

Thank you, thank you for this tip. I love to pay less for essentially the same service as the bus or regular train. Without you I'd never have known about this great opportunity. Now I have more cash to see another show in London. Now all I have to do is get luck with Priceline for a hotel room in London.

Thanks Again,

Laura

Thanks for the great information. We're staying in Portsmouth two nights after our cruise before going to London. I checked both the Megatrain and Megabus sites. Both leave from Portsmouth and go to London for 1 pound per person. What a great deal.

Silverfox - this sounds amazing - I live in London and never heard of it. We will try to use it for our August cruise from Southampton.

Are there luggage carts at Southampton? No Porters? I am travelling with a handicapped lady, but I think we can arrange some assistance at Southampton if need be!!

What think you?

It's a train. Take what you want. You don't check it through, though. You have to keep track of your own luggage. Don't expect a porter, luggage tags, or claim tickets.

The Megatrain site actually states that:

"Passengers are able to bring up to two pieces of luggage per passenger."

I would regard this as advisable to follow. They will only check if you have more luggage than you should!

If we take the bus or train from London to Southhampton, how far is it to the port from where we will get off the bus/train?

It's 5 to 10 minutes by taxi - this may vary a bit depending on traffic and exactly which berth you're going to, but it's not far.

I hear that Megatrain uses a car that they tack onto a regular train. Now I understand that the buses used by Megabus are old double deckers from Hong Kong. So what about this car on the train? Is it an old dilapitated car or just as modern and new as the rest of the train. I believe in saving money and love to find good bargains but I'll pass on the one pound fare if the regular cars are more spacious and are more comfortable. I'm not bashing megatrain. I'm just curious because it is not so well known yet so no one realizes what they might be getting into. The fare sounds just too good to be true. As I have a planned trip to the UK next year and was thinking of the train down to Southampton any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

If we take the bus or train from London to Southhampton, how far is it to the port from where we will get off the bus/train?

My understanding is that the train and bus stations are in central Southampton and within a nice walking distance. It would be a short taxi ride to the ship. I think the train or bus is the way to go unless you want to incur the expense of renting a car.