Why is there Trainline?

[Alan H]

I mean, I can't see that they offer anything that Virgin Trains and all the other TOCs provide and they use the same database of trains and fares, yet they charge an additional 75p per transaction. OK it's only 75p, but why?

[Altfish]

I mean, I can't see that they offer anything that Virgin Trains and all the other TOCs provide and they use the same database of trains and fares, yet they charge an additional 75p per transaction. OK it's only 75p, but why?

As someone who travels by train a lot it is handy having all the information in one place and not having to remember which train company (Virgin, Northern, East Midland, Cross Country, Trans Pennine, Scotrail, etc - all of which I use regularly) I should be booking at.
The other thing that comes into play is that 75% of my journeys are reclaimable, so an extra £1.50 or whatever is neither here nor there.

[Alan H]

I mean, I can't see that they offer anything that Virgin Trains and all the other TOCs provide and they use the same database of trains and fares, yet they charge an additional 75p per transaction. OK it's only 75p, but why?

As someone who travels by train a lot it is handy having all the information in one place and not having to remember which train company (Virgin, Northern, East Midland, Cross Country, Trans Pennine, Scotrail, etc - all of which I use regularly) I should be booking at.
The other thing that comes into play is that 75% of my journeys are reclaimable, so an extra £1.50 or whatever is neither here nor there.

But, AFAIK, you can buy any train ticket from any TOC, so you could remember, say, Virgin, rather than Trainline and you'd be in exactly the same position.

[Altfish]

Yeah, you are probably correct.

[Alan H]

Yeah, you are probably correct.

I think the point I was getting to is that they rely on the public not being fully informed sovereign consumers. Caveat emptor, perhaps, but ISTM that they business model relies solely on this: misinformation - at least by omission - of consumers, whilst I have no doubt they are doing nothing illegal.

[Altfish]

Yeah, you are probably correct.

I think the point I was getting to is that they rely on the public not being fully informed sovereign consumers. Caveat emptor, perhaps, but ISTM that they business model relies solely on this: misinformation - at least by omission - of consumers, whilst I have no doubt they are doing nothing illegal.

I don't think there is any misinformation. You wouldn't expect Tesco to say, "Shop at Aldi, it's cheaper"

[Alan H]

Yeah, you are probably correct.

I think the point I was getting to is that they rely on the public not being fully informed sovereign consumers. Caveat emptor, perhaps, but ISTM that they business model relies solely on this: misinformation - at least by omission - of consumers, whilst I have no doubt they are doing nothing illegal.

I don't think there is any misinformation. You wouldn't expect Tesco to say, "Shop at Aldi, it's cheaper"

I'm not sure the supermarket analogy holds: it would only work if Tesco and Aldi had exactly the same products at exactly the same prices but Tesco added a surcharge at the checkout just for shopping at Tesco's. I suspect if they did, word would spread and they would lose customers - except where they were located more conveniently, but that doesn't apply to buying rail tickets online.

But you agree that their business model relies on consumers being unaware they charge a premium for the same product?

[Altfish]

Yes, they've got to pay for their adverts somehow.

I must say that their website is more intuitive than all the Train Company ones I've used.

The way to say most money is by split ticketing; if you know what you are doing you can say 30% on some journeys.
I save about £20 on Altrincham to Nottingham by splitting it at Sheffield
I save about £35 on Altrincham to Oxford by splitting at Stafford.

[Alan H]

Yes, they've got to pay for their adverts somehow.

I must say that their website is more intuitive than all the Train Company ones I've used.

The way to say most money is by split ticketing; if you know what you are doing you can say 30% on some journeys.
I save about £20 on Altrincham to Nottingham by splitting it at Sheffield
I save about £35 on Altrincham to Oxford by splitting at Stafford.

I remember posting a link to a website that helped you split tickets... can't remember what it was called though.

ETA: Ah. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/split- ... n-tickets/

[Alan H]

Hmmm... Tried this with a couple of simple journeys (London to Brighton as we did this last Saturday). One train time this evening came out more expensive, yet it said it was cheaper and the other was cheaper. It allows you to book the split tickets directly from the website, but only using Trainline! But it seems to save on the 75p booking fee. They say:

You can book direct with the train company to avoid the booking fee. However, we can only offer this tool as thetrainline.com is our technology partner ( find out why), and so buying tickets this way helps secure the tool's future.

[Altfish]

The majority of savings are made when you make a journey that starts in rush hour but finishes off-peak. So, you pay peak rates for first half of the journey and off-peak for second half. Rather than peak for full journey.

[Alan H]

The majority of savings are made when you make a journey that starts in rush hour but finishes off-peak. So, you pay peak rates for first half of the journey and off-peak for second half. Rather than peak for full journey.

Ah! That's interesting - and obvious once it's pointed out.