# UK Train Question



## PeelBoy (Jul 8, 2008)

My group of 4 must go to Newcastle at the end of August.  After searching for airfare, the most economical way is to go to Glasgow and either take a train or hire a car to continue the trip.

I have some questions about train booking and fare:

1. Online, there are 2 booking agents: www.britrail.com and www.nationalrail.co.uk.  Are both legitimate?  It seems britrail is the official site.  Am I save booking with either of them?

2. Britrail provides one fare only: $135 from Glasgow Central to Newcastle and $100 return.  There is a booking fee of $14 per segment.  Nationalrail quotes 19 pounds + 23.50 pounds for each segment (advance), $52.30 pounds for each segment (Saver/cheap day) and 57.00 pounds for each segment (open).  I understand there are restrictions for advance tickets, but the prices are very different between the two companies.

If I decide to hire a car, what is the best car hire company in Glasgow for a week?  How is the drive from Glasgow to Newcastle?  Google Earth says 3 hours, and satellite image shows two lanes country road all the way.  Would you consider the drive a comfortable one.  We are used to long distance drive in Canada, so 3 hours is nothing to us, but none of us (except me 20 years ago) have ever driven on the left hand side.


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## helenbarnett1963 (Jul 8, 2008)

I've never heard of britrail.com.  I had a quick look at it and I suspect its an American site - which is probably why its much more expensive.

nationalrail.co.uk is the 'official' UK trains website, though some people find thetrainline.com easier to use - its just a matter of preference.  Both sites alllow you to select any route and buy any ticket on the Uk rail network (the network is made up of a number of individual train companies, but all use a common booking system). prices should be the same on both websites.  You can also book directly with any of the train companies, though prices/availability won't be any different.

purchasing tickets in advance can save you money, but there may be restrictions on when/how you use the ticket - similar to airlines!   
You can sometimes find cheaper tickets by selecting a different routing for your journey, but it takes a bit of "trial & error" to navigate around the rail network.

as to driving,  any of the main car rental companies will be as good as any other - I guess most will operate out of GLA, but you may need to enquire about where to drop off the car if its not at an airport.

Never travelled between Glasgow and Newcastle, but 3 hours sounds about right.  Try multimap for directions on the route.  Most of the way will be motorway (like the Interstate or state highways in USA but more crowded, speed limit of 70mph), or A-roads (one or 2 lanes in each direction, possibly through towns/villages with varying speed limits)


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## Carolinian (Jul 8, 2008)

For car rental try www.europebycar.com or www.autoeurope.com


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## Keitht (Jul 8, 2008)

PeelBoy said:


> If I decide to hire a car, what is the best car hire company in Glasgow for a week?  How is the drive from Glasgow to Newcastle?  Google Earth says 3 hours, and satellite image shows two lanes country road all the way.  Would you consider the drive a comfortable one.  We are used to long distance drive in Canada, so 3 hours is nothing to us, but none of us (except me 20 years ago) have ever driven on the left hand side.



Distance between the 2 is about 150 miles so 3 hours is about right.  I don't know what route Google Earth is giving you, but the best way will be motorway (M74) then A74 and A69 to Newcastle.  That way the first 100 miles are definitely all motorway or dual carriageway.  Much of the A69 is also dual carriageway.  No, or very little, country road.
I assume you are referring to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, not Newcastle-under-Lyme.


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## tedk (Jul 8, 2008)

www.thetrainline.com is the one to be used along with the national one. Also each company has their own website  but the first one i gave is suffice. britrail never heard of.


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## Jimster (Jul 8, 2008)

*train*

Both are US sites.  There are cheaper ways to get tickets than either of them.  If you go to slowtrav.com they will tell you how to access European sites- it involves deleting cookies.  I have used both of them before.  Another alternative is to go to ricksteves.com and book through them.  While their prices are not cheaper, he is usually running some kind of special that lets you get other merchandise at a discount or free.  You can also call or talk on line through them and that is a HUGE benefit.  If one of the above sites offers a special Rick will honor that as well.  As for rental cars it is also sometimes beneficial to contact the uk rental car sites.  So instead of hertz.com  you access hertz.com.uk and the same is true with other rental car providers.


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## Carolinian (Jul 9, 2008)

Always try to use the European sites.  Most US sites for European rail travel are overpriced ripoffs.


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## IreneLF (Jul 9, 2008)

ITA about the US sites charging way more for Americans than the locals pay on their sites.  I did find  on one site  that you needed a UK address in order to book - good to see other alternatives listed.


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## Jimster (Jul 9, 2008)

*address*

Again go to slowtrav.com and look at their section on trains.  You can get around the European address by listing your hotel and then indicating you will pick up the tickets.  If you don't delete the cookies on your computer, you will be directed to a US site automatically.


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## sheilas (Jul 9, 2008)

*Rail Tickets*

We just recently booked with www.raileasy.co.uk for a decent price going from Edinburgh to Aberdeen.


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## Carolinian (Jul 9, 2008)

The other European country I have bought tickets in online has been Switzerland, largely due to early or late departure times and not wanting to deal with station ticket offices delay.  That site might have figured out that my computer was in Europe, but it did not try to divert me to another site, and I got the same price as I would at the station ticket office.  I had some other rail segments on the same trip I did buy at the station, and paid the same amount as quoted on the website.

I think that the key to not getting overcharged in buying ahead of time by computer is to deal with the same websites that locals would.  If you are on a website geared to Americans, watch out!


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## PeelBoy (Jul 9, 2008)

Thanks to all.  I will keep the information for future use, since this time, I have opted to having the freedom and flexibility of a car.

Hilton Glasgow costs me $120 for the first night on Monday but $198 for the last night on Saturday, through expedia.  Price is not bad.  Who says Scotland is super expensive?


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## Carolinian (Jul 9, 2008)

For hotels, did you look at booking.com or gtahotels.com?  I often find they have the best rates.  Venere.com, also sometimes comes through.


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## Rmelnyk (Jul 16, 2008)

Did you try "passenger in seat 61?".. everything on rail you would want to know.
R


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## Carolinian (Jul 16, 2008)

Rmelnyk said:


> Did you try "passenger in seat 61?".. everything on rail you would want to know.
> R



I notice that even though this site is based in the UK, when you go to their page to buy rail tickets, it still breaks you out by where you live. If I wasn't in a rush right now, I would be tempted to but in a sample trip based on different places of residence to see if it gives different fares.


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## MULTIZ321 (Jul 17, 2008)

http://www.seat61.com/Europe.htm

and http://www.seat61.com/


Richard


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