Questions about rail service

[cleo656]

Hi, have a couple of questions about the national rail service. We will be in London in October and are planning on taking the train from St. Pancras to Dover. By looking at the schedule now, the express goes on the 12 and 42 of the hour (they are showing up to May so far)

1. Is it better to buy a ticket before hand, or is it ok just to get the ticket the day we are leaving (Sunday)
   
2. What do you do with the suitcases? We each will have one plus a carry-on. Is there enough room on the floor in front of your seat, or is there a place in each car for them?
   

Thanks Pat

[handfordr]

Hi, have a couple of questions about the national rail service. We will be in London in October and are planning on taking the train from St. Pancras to Dover. By looking at the schedule now, the express goes on the 12 and 42 of the hour (they are showing up to May so far)

1. Is it better to buy a ticket before hand, or is it ok just to get the ticket the day we are leaving (Sunday)
   
2. What do you do with the suitcases? We each will have one plus a carry-on. Is there enough room on the floor in front of your seat, or is there a place in each car for them?
   

Thanks Pat

 

St Pancras to Dover is one of 3 lines from London to Dover. Its about 40 minutes faster than the others from Charing X and Victoria, but in terms of elapsed time it may be quicker to use one of the other lines depending on where you are staying.

The other lines often have cheaper tickets.

 

All trains are not confirmed until 3 months before travel so its worth waiting a while anyway for your alternatives.

 

If you have just one case each, you will be OK.

Not that familiar with the new St Pancras service but normally there is no advantage in prepurchasing tickets.

[cleo656]

Thanks so much for the info.:)

Pat

[skisteamboat]

There are areas at the ends of the carriages for storing luggage as well as overhead racks (usually). Might invest in a simple cable lock if you worry about leaving them in the storage area although I have never had a problem. If the train is not crowded, you can place them on the seats but there is not really enough room under the seats.

 

Cheers

[Emmanana]

St Pancras to Dover is one of 3 lines from London to Dover. Its about 40 minutes faster than the others from Charing X and Victoria, but in terms of elapsed time it may be quicker to use one of the other lines depending on where you are staying.

The other lines often have cheaper tickets.

 

All trains are not confirmed until 3 months before travel so its worth waiting a while anyway for your alternatives.

 

If you have just one case each, you will be OK.

Not that familiar with the new St Pancras service but normally there is no advantage in prepurchasing tickets.

 

Hi there,

I live in London, so hopefully can give you some helpfull advice.

 

Whenever I book rail tickets for travel in the uk, I ALWAYS purchase them ahead of time. They are way cheaper in advance, sometimes up to 70% cheaper. I normally open up 2 or 3 browser windows and compare the prices so I can get the cheapest! Try www.raileasy.co.uk www.thetrainline.com or www.directrail.com . If you book with a credit card, they normally issue you with a reference number. Take careful note of this, as to collect your tickets, you will have to insert your credit card into the machine at the station, then it will ask you to type your reference number, then the machine will print your tickets

[cleo656]

Thank you everyone for your help

 

Pat

[Wendy The Wanderer]

H If you book with a credit card, they normally issue you with a reference number. Take careful note of this, as to collect your tickets, you will have to insert your credit card into the machine at the station, then it will ask you to type your reference number, then the machine will print your tickets

 

Does this work with international credit cards, or just EU ones? (Not planning a trip anytime soon, but remembering the convenience of just popping to the train station and buying a ticket and going somewhere, at a whim.)

[Globaliser]

Whenever I book rail tickets for travel in the uk, I ALWAYS purchase them ahead of time. They are way cheaper in advance, sometimes up to 70% cheaper.

This can happen on long-distance trains in the UK. But on routes which are fundamentally for commuters, such as London-Dover, this type of discount for advance purchase is really quite rare.

[Red Hat Cruise Cat]

Hi there,

I live in London, so hopefully can give you some helpfull advice.

 

Whenever I book rail tickets for travel in the uk, I ALWAYS purchase them ahead of time. They are way cheaper in advance, sometimes up to 70% cheaper. I normally open up 2 or 3 browser windows and compare the prices so I can get the cheapest! Try www.raileasy.co.uk www.thetrainline.com or www.directrail.com . If you book with a credit card, they normally issue you with a reference number. Take careful note of this, as to collect your tickets, you will have to insert your credit card into the machine at the station, then it will ask you to type your reference number, then the machine will print your tickets

 

I agree with the advance purchase, for our May transfer, I just bought our tickets online from Southampton to London Victoria for 3 pounds each. I immediately received my confirmation via e-mail. Both the website and e-mail state that I have to use the same credit card that I used online to print the tickets from the machine at the station. AMTRAK has the policy, must use the same cc.

[dexddd]

In regards to prebooking rail tickets London to Dover and live outside of UK so tickets can't be mailed in advance, do the tickets have to be picked up at any particular self serve or full serve location (like the departing station)?

 

It doesn't look like it, but when I look on-line and try to book, it gives a list of self-service locations which I don't recognize and St. Pancras isn't listed.

 

Also, does anyone have suggestions how we can easily get our London - Dover train tickets after we arrive into Heathrow (or soon thereafter) so we can use the 2-1 savings at attractions? Our rail trip isn't until 2 days until after we arrive so I don't want to have to run all over to get our rail tickets so we can use the 2-1 when we arrive.

 

Lastly, we would be hoping to use the Groupwise 4 savings - will the price be any worse if we buy close to departure date when physically in London or is it better to prebook online?

 

Thanks.

[MATHA531]

I would love to take the train from London to Dover and I searched and searched and this is what I found...

 

1. For the most part no senior discounts

 

2. The very best I could find London to Dover £27...there may be some cheaper fares but I couldn't find much cheaper...I did find £23 Dover to London..

 

3. On the train, you have to shlep your bags onto the coach. there are baggage racks granted but you still have to shlep them with you, right?

 

So, I investigated the National Express bus...

 

Yes, it's a tad longer but the schedule is still quite convenient to get to Dover in plenty of time and not have to wake up at the break of dawn..

 

Driver takes your bag, puts it in the boot and you don't have to worry..

 

There is a chance the driver might be willing to drop you at the cruise terminal (I know it's no guarantee but it seems to be a regular occurance)...

 

Fare for senior....£6.75 and then they came up with a fun fare for the day I am leaving.....fare £2 although there was a £1 surcharge for my credit card...total £3...printed the ticket right at home...done and finished.

 

Not really all that hard a choice, now was it.

[flhokie]

Depending on your travel needs when in London, there is a London Plus Pass through BritRail (only for non-British & European citizens). We plan to get the pass for any 2 days within 8 days for $139 (USD) per person. This pass includes any 2 days within 8 (there are more days, etc. available) for train travel within a southern region of England (London - Dover included) and 2 Heathrow Express passes (do not have to be used during the 8 days). It has to be purchased in advance of travel. For us, this will cover our airport transfers to London (staying at hotel in London before and after cruise--hotel is near Paddington Station) and our transportation to Dover and back.

[skisteamboat]

Depending on your travel needs when in London, there is a London Plus Pass through BritRail (only for non-British & European citizens). We plan to get the pass for any 2 days within 8 days for $139 (USD) per person. This pass includes any 2 days within 8 (there are more days, etc. available) for train travel within a southern region of England (London - Dover included) and 2 Heathrow Express passes (do not have to be used during the 8 days). It has to be purchased in advance of travel.

 

Sounds like a good option.

 

Generally speaking, I find Brit Rail and Eurail passes a bit expensive compared to individual bookings. They do offer a good convenience if one is not sure about booking individual trains. The UK system is pretty simple even with the multitude of train companies so I would look at separate booking to compare prices.

 

Cheers