21s October 2008

Cheap Advance tickets now available on most routes but likely to sell out faster than last year

Using Best Fare Finder can help customers make big savings on train tickets this Christmas

thetrainline.com is encouraging rail travellers to buy tickets for travel at Christmas now to make sure they don't miss out on the significant savings available by booking ahead.

Cheap Advance tickets for travel around Christmas are now on sale on most routes but availability is limited so thetrainline.com recommends customers act immediately to get average savings of 39% when compared to waiting to buy a ticket at the station on the day of travel.

Ben Pearson, commercial director at thetrainline.com comments: "The number of cheap Advance tickets is limited and to save money, people planning to travel by train this Christmas need to act fast. For example, Advance single tickets are currently available from London to Manchester for £8 - once they have sold out the price will be over £60."

By using Best Fare Finder (www.farefinder.thetrainline.com) customers can find cheap tickets around Christmas faster. Covering the 100 most popular routes on thetrainline.com, it's ideal for people who are flexible about their date or time of travel. Best Fare Finder shows when cheap tickets are available on and around travellers' preferred travel date so they can see whether travelling at a different time or on a different day could save them money.

Examples of the cheap tickets recently found on Best Fare Finder include: London to Bristol - £10, Edinburgh to London - £15.70, Birmingham to London £5.00, Manchester to London - £8.00, York to London £11.25 and Liverpool to London £13.

For people with travel plans after Christmas, thetrainline.com recommends using its Ticket Alert service (www.ticketalert.thetrainline.com) which will send them an email alert as soon as Advance tickets for their pre-selected journeys have been found.

Ben Pearson, commercial director at thetrainline.com said: "Christmas is a prime time for rail travel as people visit friends and family across the UK. In the current economic climate people are looking to make savings wherever they can. So, we expect cheap Advance tickets to sell out faster than last year and are advising people to buy tickets for Christmas travel as soon as possible. With our Best Fare Finder tool, we want to make it easier and faster for people to find cheap tickets and save money this Christmas."

Advance tickets are available on www.thetrainline.com up to 12 weeks before travel and until 6pm the day before departure. Railcard discounts now also apply on Advance tickets.

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About thetrainline
thetrainline is the leading UK rail ticket retailer and rail ticket information provider, offering fast and easy access to timetables, fares, reservations and tickets through its Internet site and contact centre operations in the UK train travel sector. In addition to its own website, www.thetrainline.com, it operates retail websites for 15 Train Operating Companies who sell rail tickets online, as well as providing a rail business travel service direct to a number of blue chip corporations and travel agents.

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