Train Trip Tips

~ tidalscribe.com

ONE   Buy a cardboard ticket at the ticket office, preferably in advance. There was an outcry when it was suggested money could be saved by closing all the ticket offices. Few passengers understand the complexity and pricing of tickets, so it is easier to just tell a human being where and when you want to go. At Bournemouth mainline station they are used to holiday makers, overseas students, seniors and perhaps other passengers who would try the patience of a saint. I always find a friendly face to suggest the best route and give handy tips, such as your sister from Australia can have a senior rail card as well.

TWO   Get a rail card if you are eligible, there are all sorts, from students to senior, you pay for them, but soon make a saving with a few journeys.

THREE   Travel to and from a mainline station if you can. Trains are more frequent and you may catch a faster train that does not stop everywhere. There is also a better chance of getting to your destination or back home. When our train from Waterloo was abruptly terminated at Southampton we were pondering what problem had arisen, when it was announced that the next train was for Bournemouth only. Pity the poor passengers who were heading for tiny stations in the New Forest. When I was going from Margate to Victoria we were late leaving, then somewhere along the line it was decided time could be made up by not stopping at most of the stations! Unless you were going to Bromley or Victoria you had to get off at the next station and wait for a slow train.

Apart from the above, there is also the travel experience to consider. My nearest station is dire with MPs, councillors and locals always fighting for improvements. There is a long flight of stairs, fine for keeping fit, but not with buggies and luggage. No lift, no café, no toilets, mostly no staff and a record of suicides – the visiting pastoral care team will tell you to stay away from the edge of the platform. Meanwhile at Bournemouth there can be delays or problems, but plenty of staff to ask; even if they don’t know what’s going on either you can have a friendly chat. There is also passenger assistance to get on and off the trains. For the writer or photographer there is always plenty of Life going on and passengers even weirder than yourself.

FOUR   Now you have arrived on the day of your journey you will see why it’s good to buy a cardboard ticket in advance. People are waving their phones around trying to get a signal for the ticket on their phone so they can get through the barrier. Others are causing a queue at the ticket office because their phone has run out of power and they can’t get at their ticket and their train is going in three minutes.

FIVE   Ask for help from a human. Even following my advice there can be problems. One time my ticket went in the machine, came out, but the barrier did not open. Staff let me through, but the ticket was for two train rides and the Underground, what if it didn’t work on The Tube? It didn’t, but there were staff at the barriers, cheerful staff who said that was always happening. If you are battling with luggage or a rucksack larger than yourself, they will let you through the gate.

SIX   If you are going on the London Underground check the map and the signs telling you which direction for your station. Don’t go the wrong way round on the Circle Line or north on the Northern Line when you are meant to be going south. If you notice you are going past the wrong stations, get off at the next station, looking like a cool regular alighting at your intended station. We did this on the Metro in Paris and did manage to end up in the right place… Do not panic, just make your way to the right direction platform.

SEVEN   Don’t lose your ticket. Keep your ticket and your phone in a money belt, under several layers of clothing if you are neurotic, but easily accessible so you don’t look like a nervous traveller.

EIGHT   Don’t do everything I tell you. You might well get all sorts of bargains in advance on line by booking yourself on specific trains or discovering it is cheaper to buy three tickets for one journey staying on the same train.

What are your handy tips for train travel?

31 thoughts on “Train Trip Tips”

  3. Janet, I can’t recall the last time I took a train, but ironically I was looking at some train trip planning info earlier today with regard to traveling up the US East Coast to New England to view their spectacular Fall foilage. Won’t be this year, but Mrs. B and I have been looking to get up there for years, and maybe while we’re there a train might be a nice way to take in the spendor opposed to trying to seek out the best looks via car.

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  5. If you travel anywhere by train frequently it usually easier to download the app for whatever line you use – saves time and offers more convenience that maneuvering in and out of websites and emails to book and find tickets or get up to the minute updates.

    You can also tap your bank cards or phone payment methods on London Underground if you haven’t got a ticket or travelcard (including Oyster card).

    Tip – always have headphones at the ready in case your surrounded by noisy people and you want to zone out 😉 🎧

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    1. Thanks Cheryl, good tips, yes the train aps are good and I was glad to follow trainline when when my train from Waterloo went on a long diversion just after Christmas. At least I could see exactly where we were going and how long tit was going to take.

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  6. I generally like travelling by train too. When I worked in the Ministry of Transport, I used to go on international trips organised by the Railways Offices Union, and I went with them by train (through Berlin, Paris, Versailles and Calais) up to England (where we visited Dover, London and Oxford). I still remember the neighbourhood we were lodged in London (not sure if the hotel was not named the same), Elephant and Castle. I remember it because it was a funny name, ready to tell a story about Indian wars…

    Next year, we traveled up to Portugal by train (visiting also Austria, France, Spain and Northern Italy) and it was the World International Exhibition in Lisbon…

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  7. Train travel opportunities are limited in Canada, despite the cross-country rail line. I did have several memorable trips in the 1980s, however. There used to be a passenger service on Vancouver Island, but it is, alas, a thing of the past.

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  8. So funny, Janet, and so true!
    I was once fined because a human being sold me a ticket for the following day.
    The ticket didn’t work at several barriers and I couldn’t work out why, but on each occasion, a human let me through.
    Then a ticket inspector provided the explanation…
    I wouldn’t mind, but I’d paid for a ticket in good faith, travelled all the way up to London to meet friends in a busy pub – and failed. So I was Jackie no mates travelling back all on my own when the fine happened.
    To add insult to injury, my mates told me later that they thought they saw me looking around the pub for them, but didn’t wave because they weren’t sure it was me!

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  9. Trying hard to remember the last time I was on a train, it came to me. Eurostar from London to Brussels, then on to Ghent by local train, in 2007. At the time we lived a short taxi ride from St Pancras, then we were fortunate to be upgraded to First Class at no extra cost. It all went very smoothly. Now we live 20 miles from the nearest mainline station, and there is no local station to connect us to it. So we have never taken a train since we moved here in 2012. I think all your tips are very useful, Janet.

    Best wishes, Pete.

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  10. I don’t have any tips but recall an announcement over a station tannoy ‘Well I don’t know – nobody has told ME anything!’

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