Anyone noticed the new rail fare ticketing sytem is a complete con?

Question

Just looked into booking some train tickets for a group of 4 to london from Sheffield in September for a football match.

Last year I could get it for £80, for the same group (which still isn't cheap when it'd cost £40 return in the car)

The same search, exact same times, same stations, same trains and I get £231.20 when booking 3 months in advance.

How is nearly £60 each justified? Will anybody pay it. Because in my eyes the rail companies should rot.

Answer 1

The cheap fare are booked as singles and only up to six weeks in advance This Sat just looked  11.27 dep

£21.50  earlier trains £25 as for my two penny worth I think  the £58 was quite good  anyway moreso when you have no idea of fuel costs in Sept ..

Answer 2

have a look at national express coaches,maybe a better option

Answer 3

Just put those details in the National Rail Enquiries website.  I picked 4th Sept as you do not state date.

Came back with a total of £30.85 per person which equates to £123.40 for 4

Where did you get your figures from?

Answer 4

Absolutely!

Answer 5

The new ticket system and fares have been made to simplify the structure and some fares have been removed due to there was only 1 or 2 availiable per train.

The fares you where looking at sound like saver tickets, are you sure you was looking in the right section as I found some for £162 for 4 persons in September?

If you are having difficulty then i would suggest going to your local station and asking, no postage to pay, no fee, just a straight ticket if they are still availiable.

Good Luck