London Marathon

Been searching for train tickets to London from Doncaster for a few weeks now, I've noticed the train I want is around £20 per person return which is super cheap. Obviously thats because its booked 3 month in advance. Go Friday come back Monday. So as soon as I go to put my dates in which came on sale today...guess what.. they are around £100 return. As if its not expensive enough In London they have to sting us for with extra train fare. I think its disgusting, all the hard work that has gone in to raising thousands of pounds by good people and they see an opportunity to rob us blind.

Comments

  • stutyrstutyr ✭✭✭

    Thanks for the head up image

    I'd priced them up in October thinking I could get two adults return for under £60 (as this seemed to be the going rate for off-peak on a random sample of weekends). I even considered first class for the return journey due to the good prices.  Just checked and its almost £160 for that weekend.

    It'll be cheaper for me to drive as I'm staying in Greater London.

    Does the marathon generate that much additional traffic?  I'd assumed 30000 runners plus one supporter each would equal 60 000 people.  This would be the same as two premier league football games in the capital, which must happen quite frequently.

     

  • That is pants Wayne but I think it's just a coincidence. I don't think train companies put their prices up for special events such as the VLM.

  • Surely train company's know what they are doing. I tried the same Friday-Monday trains on the previous 2 weeks and they are cheap. The weekend if the VLM and they are expensive. It doesn't take a genius to work out what they are doing. There will be hundreds travelling on the trains that day.
  • Wayne, just looked at east coast main line website, they have only released cheap tickets up to 12 April so far.

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Just checked south west trains and the prices are about the same as any other fri-mon I've used the route.

    They are also only ??3 more than in 2010 so maybe it's just certain companies.
  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭
    Screamapillar wrote (see)

    That is pants Wayne but I think it's just a coincidence. I don't think train companies put their prices up for special events such as the VLM.

    I think you'll find that some do.  It was the same a few years ago for the GNR - train fares from London to Newcastle increased hugely that weekend, then went back down to normal the next.  

    It worked out much cheaper for our club members to drive.

     

  • I think that there are only a limited number of the cheapest tickets for any given route. My friend is organising his wedding in Aviemore in March with a train journey to Edinburgh to watch the rugby. The first batch of tickets were about £20 but when he went to purchase the second batch they were over £50.

  • Supply & demand.  The lesson?  Find a better marathon.

  • Phil F wrote (see)

    Wayne, just looked at east coast main line website, they have only released cheap tickets up to 12 April so far.

    this sounds about right. cheap tickets are released 12 weeks in advance so london marathon weekend ones won't have been done yet

  • LS21LS21 ✭✭✭

    Just hang fire. I've travelled from Donny to Kings Cross for the last few VLMs and never paid more than £10 for a single ticket. Sign up to East Coast's 'offers' or newsletter or whatever on their website.

    Pretty soon the cheap singles TO London will become available - at a guess you'll be paying between £7 and £12. You'll then need to be patient before buying your ticket for the journey back. It'll prob be circa 4 weeks after you've bought the cheap outbound tickets before you can get the cheap inward ones. Again it'll prob be a tenner tops.

    If you try and do it as a return ticket you'll get stung. Do it as 2 singles but get your outward one as soon as the cheap ones are out. Be patient, cos the cheap tickets back WILL become available but not for a while.

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    And there's always National Express coaches, too - they tend to be much cheaper than the train.

  • LS21 wrote (see)

    Pretty soon the cheap singles TO London will become available

    Thats prety much what I was getting at.  Didn't run 2012 but the two prior years I booked outward tickets for a family of four for £20 and then inward tickets a week or so later for £25 as LS1 said don't book return. There will be cheap tickets just sign up for the reminders.

  • LS21LS21 ✭✭✭

    Yep, or Megabus goes from Meadowhall to Victoria with no stops from anything between £1-£10. Journey time circa 4 hours I think. Nat Express also go from there but stop at a few other places en route to collect more folk (Chesterfield, Derby etc). So a few options of getting you there and back for less than £20

  • Yes Megabus works well (cheers LS21).  You can also mix and match train / megabus that way.

  • Have you got a child or can you get hold of one Wayne?

    I usually pay £100 for a day return to London from North Wales for work - but if I take my son with a family railcard I can get 2 adults and a child for £85.00 image

  • Curly45Curly45 ✭✭✭

    There is also the slower but often cheaper line to/from St Pancras, usually takes about an hour longer than those from kings cross but still quicker than a coach image

  • I am travelling up to london at the begining of April for a half marathon. The cheap tickets came on sale weekend just gone and I bought them then but it was cheaper as 2 singles. As you specify the time you are coming back and its not an open return. £42.00 return from Devon

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