Super off-peak travel card

[koster]

I normally get a "super off-peak travel card" for a Saturday day return Cambridge to London with network railcard discount. This is £14.50.

But when I tried to buy it online this morning, it was not offered. Does anyone know whare this ticket has gone?

I emailed trainline and they told me it does exist, but I still can't find it on trainline. I emailed First Capital Connect but I'm still waiting a reply.

The next cheapest option is an "off-peak day travelcard" for £18.50.

[SeaJayPea]

If you use the national Rail Enquiries site, it does show your £14.50 fare. Get it here

http://ojp.nationalra...dep/tomorrow/1745/dep

[Buenchico]

Alternatively, the fare is available on a 'walk up' basis at Cambridge, both from the ticket office and (quicker) from the self-service machines.

If you'll be arriving at Cambridge station on a train from an unstaffed station (as I do when using the same ticket which you do), you can buy your ticket from Cambridge to Kings Cross at the same time as you purchase travel to Cambridge. (If the conductor denies that such a fare exists, tell him that the fare code is listed as 'WRE' on his ticket machine).

Chris

[koster]

Thank you both very much for your answers. The National Rail site does indeed show the £14.50 fare, but when you click on 'Buy', you are redirected to the First Capital Connect site, where the £14.50 fare is not offered.

My journey starts in Cambridge, so I can't buy a ticket on the train. Trying to buy a ticket from Cambridge station on a Saturday morning can be a queueing nightmare. I've bought this ticket from ticket machines and at the counter before, but I suspect it may not exist anymore because it's not on the First Capital Connect site.

[Buenchico]

Unless I've missed a change in the system, buying tickets online doesn't allow you to print them out. (Which is logical because a ticket printed at home wouldn't operate the ticket barriers in Cambridge and across London). So you still have to collect them from the machines at the station. As far as I can recall (and I use Cambridge station fairly often) there are no machines which are solely for collecting tickets. You have to use the same machines where people buy tickets from; so you end up queuing in exactly the same place anyway!

[koster]

Hi Buenchico,

You are right that you can't print tickets from the Internet (with the exception of some tickets from crosscountrytrains.co.uk).

The ticket machines at Cambridge will only sell you tickets for the same day, but you can collect tickets for any day.

If you buy online, you can either:
1. have the tickets sent to you free of charge by 1st class post, if there is enough time before your journey.
2. collect them from the machine at the station.

Collecting from the machine rather than buying from the machine has two advantages:
1. you can collect them when the station is less busy, so you don't have to queue.
2. you can buy all of your planned journeys in one go, so you only have to visit and queue at the ticket machine once.

Since asking this question, I have discovered a wonderful ticket website, called redspottedhanky.com. This site offers every ticket, including the £14.50 one I wanted, and they will send them to you 1st class for free. I'll be using redspottedhanky.com for every ticket purchase in future, and will stop using websites like Trainline and First Capital Connect, which hide some of the best fares.

http://www.redspottedhanky.com/
http://www.crosscount...e-ticket_success.aspx