Expensive Train to Bristol

[veravin]

Some of you may recall my questions about getting from Southampton to Dingle a month or two back. I got some great advice and we came up with a plan to take a train to Bristol and fly from there to Cork. The train schedules were not available for our specific dates at the time but a dummy booking for 3 weeks earlier (same day of week and time) gave a price of 8-13 quid per person. It has been the same for all the Saturdays since that initial question. Last week June 29 came up and it was 29 per person and July 6 is the same. Any idea why it is 2-3 times more expensive for those dates? Is there any chance of those decreasing or is the well in advance rate typically the best one? There are 6 of us traveling so it does make a bit of a difference.

 

Thanks.

Dee

[John Bull]

Hi, Dee,

 

Are you sure you saw 6th July at minimum £29 for sat 29th June? :confused:

 

On the Nat Rail site I'm currently seeing Saturday prices up to & including 29th June

08.27..... £8

09.10..... £14.50

09.15..... £51.50 (indirect)

10.10..... £14.50

10.15..... £51.50 (indirect)

10.10..... £10.00

 

But for Saturday 6th July all at £29.20 (bar the indirects, still at £51.50)

That is the last date bookable at the moment.

 

Weekday times & fares, vaguely from about £6.50 up to 3rd July, also show a minimum of £29.20 for 4th & 5th July.

 

I'd be inclined to monitor those prices for a few days to see if the increase date moves forward. If it does, it's probably a computer glitch.

 

Price increases are govt regulated, the round of increases in January averaged below 4%, though I don't know if trains offered at below the standard rate are regulated.

 

JB :)

[veravin]

I was hoping to hear from you John!

 

We are looking at July 6 so I will keep an eye on things for a week or two.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Dee

[Bob++]

Bear in mind that the best prices are for specific trains. This means that your ticket is valid for a train at that time only, and if you miss that train you will have to pay the FULL price.

[Mairnealach]

Hi Dee,

 

As of today, the cheap Advance fares from Southampton to Bristol are only loaded in the reservation system up to 3 July. In my experience, this slight delay in loading the full range of fares, when the reservation system opens three months in advance, is typical of most British train companies. The Advance fares for 6 July should be in the system within a few days. So keep monitoring the site. This far in advance, you should have no trouble getting the cheapest fares when they become available.

 

Dermot