Timing of Train - for you, John Bull

[veravin]

Hi John (and everyone else who has been so very helpful to me),

 

You may recall my various questions about train travel and the like. John, you were right, the prices have gone down now that a few days have passed. Here is my latest, and hopefully last, question.

 

We are going to be catching (if all goes well) the 12:25 flight from Bristol to Cork. The deadline for being at the gate is 45 minutes before take off. I will check in online prior to leaving but we will have bags to check.

 

There are a few options for trains from Southampton and if I buy tickets in advance there is significant savings. The least expensive leaves at 8:27 and gets to Temple Meads at 10:29. Assuming about 30 minutes to the airport by bus or taxi, that gives us just about 90 minutes to check in. There is an 8:10 train that would get us in at 9:48 which would give us a little more than two hours but would cost about 25 quid more for the group. Not a huge amount but not insignificant either.

 

My question is, if it were you, and you were traveling with two children (7&9) would you chance the later train which would buy some time getting off the ship or the earlier train which would buy some time at the airport?

[Bob++]

JB will no doubt reply in due course, but I think that the later train is cutting it a bit fine.

[John Bull]

Good to know prices are as anticipated.

 

Sorry, gonna disagree with Bob.;)

In the nicest possible way.

 

I rate 90 minutes from Bristol Temple Meads station to airport as plenty, even using the shuttle bus, & even if the train isn't on-time. And although I've forgotten ship & date, it might be that widening the Bristol window by booking the 8.10 train narrows the window a little fine at the Southampton end.

 

More pertinent is whether you can use pre-booked timed tickets for a later (or earlier) train, something I've not experienced. Obviously any higher ticket-price would have to be made up, and probably an admin fee. But if you miss the booked 8.10 are your tickets worthless for another train? :eek:

If so, I'd definitely book the 8.27 because although it'd be a bit frustrating to get to Southampton station super-early & have to watch the 8.10 arrive & leave while you wait for the 8.27, that's not the same as having to buy a second set of full-price tickets cos you missed your booked 8.10 train.

 

Be worth your while to dig deep into the small-print about missing a booked train.

 

JB :)

[Mairnealach]

I would also recommend you get the 08:10 train, but then I am a cautious person by nature. Last weekend, I had to pay an extra £20 to buy new train tickets from Yorkshire to Manchester airport when KLM brought forward my companion's flight time by 30 minutes. There is an expression in this part of the world which may be relevant: penny wise, pound foolish.

 

By the way, you say you will check in online prior to leaving. Are you aware that Aer Lingus' 30 day advance web check in is only applicable if you have booked, and paid for, reserved seats? For people like me, who refuse to pay extra for reserved seats, online web check in is only available from 30 hours prior to travel.

 

Dermot

[veravin]

Dermot,

 

Thanks for the thought. I did end up paying for seat selection as we had to have checked luggage so the price was cheaper to just get the PLUS fare than to pay for the luggage all separately. I did not know about that part though. I was delighted to see that I could check in before getting on the ship because I was quite concerned about how that would work.

 

I have taken trains in England before but never where the timing of arrival at my destination was quite so important. Do they typically run on time?

 

As for the tickets, if I miss the 8:10, I would have to buy new tickets. There is no value to the ticket for a missed train. If I was to purchase tickets for 8:27 and get to the train station at 8:05 and wanted to take the 8:10, I could but would have to pay the fare difference plus a change fee. Likely quite expensive.

 

Moral of the story, if I am trying to be pound wise I had better make sure I catch whichever train I book for!

[veravin]

BTW, we are on the Eclipse arriving on July 6. According to the schedule, we dock at 5:30.

[John Bull]

BTW, we are on the Eclipse arriving on July 6. According to the schedule, we dock at 5:30.

 

Ship is likely to be cleared for unassisted dis-embarkation about 7am, & staggered normal disembarkation from about 7.30.

 

Eclipse berths at City cruise terminal, the closest for the train station, no more than five minutes in a taxi at that time of day.

Even so, & regardless of which train you book, unassisted disembarkation avoids the risk of a bag being difficult to find or a line at immigration, and guarantees plenty of taxis.

 

I think your window at Southampton for the 8.10 is comfortable.

But I also think your window at Bristol is comfortable for the 8.27.

So it really depends where you'd feel more comfortable with a slightly broader window.

 

JB :)

[veravin]

John,

 

I will think about it but I just wanted to drop a line to thank you quite sincerely for all of your assistance. It has been invaluable!

 

Thanks to everyone else who has chimed in as well. I have appreciated all the input and will sort it all out in my head over a glass of wine (or two).

 

Dee

[Bob++]

I too tend to err on the cautious side.

 

Trains in the UK do tend to be pretty reliable provided that there are no engineering works to foul things up. You can check these on the website in advance. Bristol Temple Meads is well served by taxis so you should have no trouble there - although you will almost certainly need two.