Get up early – save handsomely on intercity rail travel. That is the lesson from at least some of the long-distance train journeys I have researched, with savings of 50 per cent or more available in exchange for an irritatingly early start.
Two weeks from now, “regulated” rail fares will rise across England and Wales by an average of 4.6 per cent – significantly above inflation. The governments in London and Cardiff specify the increase, which covers season tickets, journeys in and out of major cities and longer-distance off-peak fares.
With taxpayers pumping £400 per second into the black hole of railway finances, fare rises are inevitable. But there are work-arounds for some intercity journeys.
On many key long-distance routes, the first trains depart between 5am and 6am. Some gradually fill up at stations along the route where regular commuters board. Milton Keynes Central is a classic example, being the last pick-up point for Avanti West Coast passengers heading into London Euston.
But many early departures are, in my experience, largely empty. They can and should provide cheap deals.
Generally people wanting to travel by rail before 9.30am are penalised with the highest fares. But smart train operators want to spread demand across the morning, and will offer lower prices for pre-dawn journeys.
I have researched some of the best deals, looking 48 hours ahead for advance tickets.
GWR excels at early starts, with 4.53am and 5.23am departures from Bristol to London Paddington. Take one of these and you will pay just £34.50 rather than £60 or more for later trains.
To be fair, most people do not live within easy walking distance of Bristol Temple Meads station. But the saving will pay for a taxi or Uber from elsewhere in the city.
London has a network of night buses (and, at weekends, a night Tube), which makes reaching rail terminals at silly o’clock easier.
- GWR ravellers from London to Bristol can pay a flat £60 on very early trains, with fares rising by 50 per cent or more for later risers.
- London Northwestern Railway from Euston to Crewe is just £29 on the 6.43am, compared with £70 an hour later.
- East Midlands Railway incentivises early starts on the main line from London St Pancras to Leicester, Derby and Sheffield. Board the 5.27am and you pay £57, not £80, to reach South…
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