In message
, at
03:27:55 on Mon, 21 Mar 2011, Neil Williams
remarked:
On Mar 21, 9:31*am, (Steve Firth) wrote:

hotels have probably junked your reservation unless you paid
in advance

Not convinced of that argument; most hotels of any size these days
will take a credit card number as guarantee, and I would be very
annoyed if my room if so guaranteed was given away even if I arrived
at 4am.

Steve seems to be describing a hotel which doesn't require advance
payment[1], but nevertheless keeps you room for you, except past some
undisclosed trigger point at which they start to re-let it because
you've failed to turn up.

However, Steve's comprehensively lost the plot, because the
complained-about train (change at Carlisle) and late arrival time
(Euston 23.38) was one that *he* suggested (not John). And as it's the
southbound return leg, one expects the traveller to be going home, not
to a hotel.

[1] For the avoidance of doubt, I include any "credit card guarantees"
as payment in advance, because you are guaranteeing to pay them, whether
you turn up or not.
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 04:08:23
on Mon, 21 Mar 2011, John B remarked:

but buying a single ticket was not the object of the exercise, it was
a return ticket and I quoted the cheapest return available.

Cheap train tickets are only sold as point-to-point fares, like budget
air fares. So, erm, no.

I agree. In particular the BMI air fare that Steve originally quoted has
to be bought as two singles, and the confusion is compounded because it
appears he only quoted the price of the outbound half (£40).
--
Roland Perry

John B wrote:

No it isn't.

Yes it is.

I've literally just been to the National Rail website and
seen the GBP28.50 fares that I mentioned. I've even taken a screenshot:
http://twitpic.com/4bqnfs

I've literally just posted a literal screenshot literally to this page,
literally.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/35158c8b61.png

No doubt your wriggling will continue.

In message , at 19:20:13 on
Mon, 21 Mar 2011, Steve Firth remarked:

I've literally just been to the National Rail website and
seen the GBP28.50 fares that I mentioned. I've even taken a screenshot:
http://twitpic.com/4bqnfs

I've literally just posted a literal screenshot literally to this page,
literally.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/35158c8b61.png

No doubt your wriggling will continue.

You can resolve this by posting a screenshot of the return fare for the
BMI flights.

I'll help you out; this is the sort of thing you won't be wanting to
show: http://yfrog.com/h0jnkvpj (because it's two singles, not a return)
--
Roland Perry

On Mar 21, 7:20*pm, (Steve Firth) wrote:

John B wrote:
[snip]
I've literally just been to the National Rail website and
seen the GBP28.50 fares that I mentioned. I've even taken a screenshot:
http://twitpic.com/4bqnfs

I've literally just posted a literal screenshot literally to this page,
literally.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/35158c8b61.png

No doubt your wriggling will continue.

Which clearly shows that tickets are available "As singles from GBP
65.00" (the tab on the right) - indeed when you do a journey and fares
query it's this tab that shows up first, you have to actively click on
the "As return from GBP 202.70" to bring up the screen in your
screenshot.

Buying two of these single fares for a return journey is functionally
no different to what you are offered for a return flight on BMI (at
least w.r.t. the cheap fares).

You remain a profound idiot.

In article ,
(John B) wrote:

The NR planner - ojp.nationalrail.co.uk - is quoting me GBP28.50 for the
0615 for Wednesday April 27 (and for the 0700, while the 0800 is
GBP36.50).

06:15 London Kings Cross [KGX]
Edinburgh [EDB]
11:08 4h 53m 0 Details
£28.50 (Cheapest fare) Advance More fares

If you'd looked on the East Coast web site you'd have been offered the
same ticket for £25.35 (£32.50 on the 0700 and 0800 now).

It is another sad consequence of the fragmentation of the railway that the
best fares are often only available from the web site of the TOC involved.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On Mar 21, 9:00*pm, wrote:

In article ,
(John B) wrote:
The NR planner - ojp.nationalrail.co.uk - is quoting me GBP28.50 for the
0615 for Wednesday April 27 (and for the 0700, while the 0800 is
GBP36.50).

06:15 London Kings Cross [KGX] * * * *
Edinburgh [EDB]
11:08 4h 53m * 0 * * *Details
* 28.50 (Cheapest fare) Advance More fares

If you'd looked on the East Coast web site you'd have been offered the
same ticket for 25.35 ( 32.50 on the 0700 and 0800 now).

It is another sad consequence of the fragmentation of the railway that the
best fares are often only available from the web site of the TOC involved..

Buying from the East Coast site means you get the extra 10% discount,
but if you look on the National Rail website it *does* show the cheap
Advance fares (without the 10% discount) - however Steve Firth chooses
to ignore this for whatever reason (I imagine because it rather
destroys his specious argument).

Also, if you want to purchase said Advance tickets, the NR website
then passes you over to the East Coast site and voila you do get
offered the 10% discount after all.

In article
,
(Mizter T) wrote:

On Mar 21, 9:00*pm, wrote:

In article ,
(John B) wrote:
The NR planner - ojp.nationalrail.co.uk - is quoting me GBP28.50 for
the 0615 for Wednesday April 27 (and for the 0700, while the 0800 is
GBP36.50).

06:15 London Kings Cross [KGX] * * * *
Edinburgh [EDB]
11:08 4h 53m * 0 * * *Details
* 28.50 (Cheapest fare) Advance More fares

If you'd looked on the East Coast web site you'd have been offered the
same ticket for 25.35 ( 32.50 on the 0700 and 0800 now).

It is another sad consequence of the fragmentation of the railway that
the best fares are often only available from the web site of the TOC
involved.

Buying from the East Coast site means you get the extra 10% discount,
but if you look on the National Rail website it *does* show the cheap
Advance fares (without the 10% discount) - however Steve Firth chooses
to ignore this for whatever reason (I imagine because it rather
destroys his specious argument).

Also, if you want to purchase said Advance tickets, the NR website
then passes you over to the East Coast site and voila you do get
offered the 10% discount after all.

Oh, does it? That's worth knowing. Does it do the same with East Midlands
Trains and Cross Country? It certainly won't know that if you want cheap
EMT Advance fares from Cambridge you have to book from Ely as EMT won't do
Advance tickets to stations they don't serve. More bizarrely Cross Country
who boast how many of their passengers also use other TOCs, do much the
same (on the Birmingham-Stansted service at least).

--
Colin Rosenstiel

(Steve Firth) wrote in
:

John B wrote:

No it isn't.

Yes it is.

I've literally just been to the National Rail website and
seen the GBP28.50 fares that I mentioned. I've even taken a
screenshot: http://twitpic.com/4bqnfs

I've literally just posted a literal screenshot literally to this
page, literally.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/35158c8b61.png

No doubt your wriggling will continue.

If you click the GBP65 tab, you'll see that it's the price for *two*
singles, *there and back*. So we're in agreement that a return ticket
from London to Edinburgh for a specific pair of trains on your selection
of day (ie sold in the same way as an air ticket) costs GBP65.

Meanwhile, a return valid on whatever train you like costs GBP202.70,
which is substantially less than a return air ticket valid on whatever
plane you like.

Argument over.

JB

Greetings.

In article news:4304f6ee-96f3-4778-822d-
, Mizter T wrote:
Shame the OP x-posted this to uk.transport.

It seemed appropriate; my question was about platform assignments in all
British rail stations, not just in London.

Regards,
Tristan

--
_
_V.-o Tristan Miller Space is limited
/ |`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In a haiku, so it's hard
(7_\\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ To finish what you