Is it possible to buy a single (train) ticket to Waterford on a Sunday?

JHMEG

My wife tried to buy single tickets for the 14:10 Hueston to Waterford for herself (€18) and our teenage daughter (€5) on the IR website only to be told that she couldn't buy less than an hour before departure.

So, off we go into Heuston only to be told by the ticket seller that you can't buy single tickets on a Sunday! WTF?!!?

She was charged €36 and €18 respectively, and I'm raging!

Can singles be bought from the vending machines in the station? The website gave the impression they could be bought.

fozzle

I got caught that way this weekend too - had to spend 44euro on a ticket to Sligo 'cos apparantly at the weekend the single's the same price as a monthly return. Only paid 20-something on Christmas eve. When I asked the guy in the office he said the cheaper rate is only for online sales, but the website wouldn't let me buy a ticket even a day in advance. It had no option to reserve a seat and wouldn't allow me to buy a ticket without reserving a blooming seat
*rolls eyes*

KC61

JHMEG wrote: »

My wife tried to buy single tickets for the 14:10 Hueston to Waterford for herself (€18) and our teenage daughter (€5) on the IR website only to be told that she couldn't buy less than an hour before departure.

So, off we go into Heuston only to be told by the ticket seller that you can't buy single tickets on a Sunday! WTF?!!?

She was charged €36 and €18 respectively, and I'm raging!

Can singles be bought from the vending machines in the station? The website gave the impression they could be bought.

As your wife missed out on the online fare, which is heavily discounted, she ended up paying the full regulated single fare which is applied on Fridays and Sundays. This is the same price as a 5 day or monthly return ticket. Travel on other days is discounted to encourage travel.

KC61

fozzle wrote: »

I got caught that way this weekend too - had to spend 44euro on a ticket to Sligo 'cos apparantly at the weekend the single's the same price as a monthly return. Only paid 20-something on Christmas eve. When I asked the guy in the office he said the cheaper rate is only for online sales, but the website wouldn't let me buy a ticket even a day in advance. It had no option to reserve a seat and wouldn't allow me to buy a ticket without reserving a blooming seat
*rolls eyes*

The regulated single fare from Dublin to Sligo is EUR 44. All of the other fares available on other days during the week and online are heavily discounted to encourage off-peak travel.

Unfortunately there are certain trains on the Sligo route that are still operated using commuter stock (due to a lack of intercity railcars), meaning reservations are impossible and tickets are not sold online. For reference, these are:

Mon/Fri: 0905 Dublin/Sligo; 1300 Sligo/Dublin
Sun: 1305 & 1505 Dublin/Sligo; 1700 & 1900 Sligo/Dublin

T Corolla

KC61 wrote: »

The regulated single fare from Dublin to Sligo is EUR 44. All of the other fares available on other days during the week and online are heavily discounted to encourage off-peak travel.

Unfortunately there are certain trains on the Sligo route that are still operated using commuter stock (due to a lack of intercity railcars), meaning reservations are impossible and tickets are not sold online. For reference, these are:

Mon/Sat: 0905 Dublin/Sligo; 1300 Sligo/Dublin
Sun: 1305 & 1505 Dublin/Sligo; 1700 & 1900 Sligo/Dublin

You can buy single journey tickets online for the 09:05,11:05,13:05 for 10 Euro from Dublin to Sligo an Mon to Sat and for the 07:05 Mon to Friday for 22 euros as far as I have investigated. There are 22 euro fares available on all trains from Sligo on Sat/Sun. The cheapest single fair is 10 euro and the cheapest return fair is 20 euro and the average return fair is 32 euro online You can buy up to an hour before departure so I assume if you making that journey you would already have decieded more than an hour before hand. There are rearly commuter stock on this line anymore due to a rise in the number of passengers and new trains. There are things I liked to see in the Irish Rail website would be the ability to book cheap fares from the stations such as Mullingar and Maynooth and Longford this is not provided for as of yet it would no cost much to setup and would encourage tourism traffic onto the trains

KC61

T Corolla wrote: »

You can buy single journey tickets online for the 09:05,11:05,13:05 for 10 Euro from Dublin to Sligo an Mon to Sat and for the 07:05 Mon to Friday for 22 euros as far as I have investigated. There are 22 euro fares available on all trains from Sligo on Sat/Sun. The cheapest single fair is 10 euro and the cheapest return fair is 20 euro and the average return fair is 32 euro online You can buy up to an hour before departure so I assume if you making that journey you would already have decieded more than an hour before hand. There are rearly commuter stock on this line anymore due to a rise in the number of passengers and new trains. There are things I liked to see in the Irish Rail website would be the ability to book cheap fares from the stations such as Mullingar and Maynooth and Longford this is not provided for as of yet it would no cost much to setup and would encourage tourism traffic onto the trains

Since the new timetable was introduced the 0905 Dublin/Sligo and 1300 Sligo/Dublin on weekdays have reverted to commuter stock as the Intercity unit is now used on the Rosslare route - hence seats cannot be booked on these trains.

The trains that cannot be booked are those as listed in my post above.

T Corolla

Since the new timetable was introduced the 0905 Dublin/Sligo and 1300 Sligo/Dublin on weekdays have reverted to commuter stock as the Intercity unit is now used on the Rosslare route - hence seats cannot be booked on these trains.

The trains that cannot be booked are those as listed in my post above.[/quote]


I have just go in and tried to book a ticket and did so with no problem

KC61

There is some rejigging for this week as the 0705 Dublin/Sligo is cancelled and the early morning Sligo/Dublin is also cancelled.

T Corolla

I understand that there is on account of christmas. I went forward and book a seat on the 09:05 to Sligo from Dublin and a seat on the 13:00 from Sligo to Dublin and there is no issue with the booking. There is the occasion that a 29k is used for the 09:05 from Connolly to Sligo but it rear enough and I have tried to book a seat on the 07:30 from Dublin Connolly to Rosslare europort even though it says intercity it not allowing me to buy a ticket has this been updated since the new timetable

KC61

T Corolla wrote: »

I understand that there is on account of christmas. I went forward and book a seat on the 09:05 to Sligo from Dublin and a seat on the 13:00 from Sligo to Dublin and there is no issue with the booking. There is the occasion that a 29k is used for the 09:05 from Connolly to Sligo but it rear enough and I have tried to book a seat on the 07:30 from Dublin Connolly to Rosslare europort even though it says intercity it not allowing me to buy a ticket has this been updated since the new timetable

All I can say is that with the introduction of the new timetables at the end of November the 0905 Connolly/Sligo and 1300 Sligo/Connolly train are both now booked for a 29K train Monday-Friday and therefore it should not be possible to reserve a seat on it. It looks like the I.T. department and operations are not talking to one another. But what's new about that?

For this week only it is a 22K operated train as the 0705 is cancelled.

The reason for this is that there are insufficient 22K sets to operate the entire timetable. 2 of the original order were damaged in transit from Korea and will be replaced with completely new trains in 2011.

The 1305 and 1505 Connolly/Sligo and 1700 and 1900 Sligo/Connolly on Sundays are also 8-car 29K operated as the 6-car 22K trains need to be in Sligo for Monday morning and therefore operate the evening services to Sligo. There are insufficient sets based in Connolly to operate 6-car trains on these two services. 3-car trains would not be sufficient capacity.

T Corolla

KC61 wrote: »

All I can say is that with the introduction of the new timetables at the end of November the 0905 Connolly/Sligo and 1300 Sligo/Connolly train are both now booked for a 29K train Monday-Friday and therefore it should not be possible to reserve a seat on it. It looks like the I.T. department and operations are not talking to one another.

For this week only it is a 22K operated train as the 0705 is cancelled.

The reason for this is that there are insufficient 22K sets to operate the entire timetable. 2 of the original order were damaged in transit from Korea and will be replaced with completely new trains in 2011.

The 1305 and 1505 Connolly/Sligo and 1700 and 1900 Sligo/Connolly on Sundays are also 8-car 29K operated as the 6-car 22K trains need to be in Sligo for Monday morning and therefore operate the evening services to Sligo. There are insufficient sets based in Connolly to operate 6-car trains on these two services. 3-car trains would not be sufficient capacity.

I heard about the damage to the trains and that they were sent back for repair. I have no idea abou the Sunday trains but am glad to here that there is demand for Sunday services from Sligo on that scale. I feared that they would reduce some of the services if they were low patronage on the trains. I not a big fan of the 29k in the winter time but it is better than a four hour trip by bus. Thanks anyway happy new year to you and happy travelling whatever the type of train

JHMEG

KC61 wrote: »

As your wife missed out on the online fare, which is heavily discounted

It was a single, and half the price of a return. If it was heavily discounted then so is the return.

KC61 wrote: »

she ended up paying the full regulated single fare which is applied on Fridays and Sundays. This is the same price as a 5 day or monthly return ticket. Travel on other days is discounted to encourage travel.

The Friday and Sunday logic doesn't work, as unlike on airlines (where it appears IR got this model from) people don't have the choice of what operator to travel with.

A return should cost one price and a single another, just like it used to. Why did it have to change? It's only managing to p1ss people off this new way.

KC61

JHMEG wrote: »

It was a single, and half the price of a return. If it was heavily discounted then so is the return.

The Friday and Sunday logic doesn't work, as unlike on airlines (where it appears IR got this model from) people don't have the choice of what operator to travel with.

A return should cost one price and a single another, just like it used to. Why did it have to change? It's only managing to p1ss people off this new way.

I'm afraid your understanding of how Irish Rail price tickets is incorrect. I'll try to explain it as best I can.

The standard ticketing model for tickets bought at the booking office as follows:

The price of a standard single ticket is set by the government. This ticket is generally that sold on Fridays and Saturdays, and which is the one your wife bought. The ticket is on certain routes discounted on other days of the week in order to encourage people to use the train and fill seats that would otherwise be empty.

There are three types of standard return ticket available from a booking office:
1) Monthly Return (usually the most expensive option)
2) 5-day return
3) Day/Monthly saver return tickets (only available on certain routes)

The prices of these tickets vary, but the monthly and five day tickets are usually the same price or more expensive than a single. They are not priced at twice the single fare and never have been.

The standard single ticket for Dublin/Waterford is priced at EUR 36. Monday/Thursday and Saturday it is discounted to EUR 27.50. The monthly and 5-day return tickets are priced at EUR 36 on that trip, and this is set by the company. That's why the booking clerk sold her a return ticket, giving her the option of a return trip if she changed her mind. The Waterford, Sligo, Mayo and Rosslare routes traditionally has had a lower differential between single and return fares as a form of compensation to customers for the lower line speeds and lower frequency of trains as compared with say Dublin/Cork.

The rationale for the fares model is simple. On Mondays/Thursdays and Saturdays loadings are lower, more seats are thus available and as a result the company is trying to encourage sales by offering lower fares.

On other routes (such as Dublin/Cork), the prices differ. A standard single is EUR 66, while the 5-day return is EUR 71, and the monthly return is EUR 78.50. There are no discounts on that route on other days of the week for tickets bought at the booking office, as it is deemed a premium product.

Day saver tickets are in most cases offered at a higher discount on certain days of the week when demand is lower and the company tries to stimulate demand by offering a lower fare.

However, where the model has changed is with the advent of online fares. These are priced as single tickets for each section of the trip in the same way that airline fares are, and the fare added together to give a total if a return is being purchased. In order to encourage more people to travel and book online, thus reducing staff costs, the company offers discounts to the standard single fare for virtually every ticket bought online. For example Dublin/Cork at a booking office is EUR 66 single. Online it is EUR 36 single, and can be EUR 10 single on certain off-peak trains. Dublin/Waterford is EUR 18 single and EUR 10 off-peak single online.

The motto I am afraid is book in advance and online wherever possible.

JHMEG

KC61 wrote: »

I'm afraid your understanding of how Irish Rail price tickets is incorrect. I'll try to explain it as best I can.

No, I understand it.

She was offered a single online for €18.
In Heuston she was told she had to buy a return for €36 as it was a Sunday (of a bank holiday weekend no less!!!).

Dress it up whatever way you want, but that's stupid.

KC61

JHMEG wrote: »

No, I understand it.

She was offered a single online for €18.
In Heuston she was told she had to buy a return for €36 as it was a Sunday (of a bank holiday weekend no less!!!).

Dress it up whatever way you want, but that's stupid.

The bottom line is that the tickets online are heavily discounted. It is a promotional fare. She didn't take it and then had to pay the booking office price which is far more expensive, but which happens to be the same price as the return fare at weekends.

The relationship between the fare online and that at the booking office is irrelevant - it happens to be double in this case. However, it is frequently greater. She effectively bought a single for EUR 36, but as it is the same price as a return ticket, the clerk did the right thing and issued a return ticket offering her the opportunity to travel at a later date.

JHMEG

KC61 wrote: »

The bottom line is that the tickets online are heavily discounted. It is a promotional fare. She didn't take it and then had to pay the booking office price which is far more expensive, but which happens to be the same price as the return fare at weekends.

The relationship between the fare online and that at the booking office is irrelevant - it happens to be double in this case. However, it is frequently greater. She effectively bought a single for EUR 36, but as it is the same price as a return ticket, the clerk did the right thing and issued a return ticket offering her the opportunity to travel at a later date.

That's fine, but as I said the model seems to have come from the airlines and doesn't fit well with IR who have a monopoly on rail. For a number of reasons, a) people travelling by train generally do not have a choice about what day they travel, b) there is only one train operator, c) IR receives huge subsidy from the tax payer

You can say the online price is heavily discounted, and technically it might be, but to Joe Public it's a reasonable price, no more. The in-station price is a complete rip-off.

As it happens when she visits her sister in Cork she flies. It's way cheaper, and all in a bit quicker. Now, if only Ryainair would fly Dublin to Waterford...

monument

JHMEG wrote: »

That's fine, but as I said the model seems to have come from the airlines and doesn't fit well with IR who have a monopoly on rail. For a number of reasons, a) people travelling by train generally do not have a choice about what day they travel, b) there is only one train operator, c) IR receives huge subsidy from the tax payer.

A) same really goes for people on any mode of transport, so what's your point?

What is your point here?

C) So what? You do know if ticket prices were cheaper then the subsidy would have to be higher? Right?

JHMEG wrote: »

You can say the online price is heavily discounted, and technically it might be, but to Joe Public it's a reasonable price, no more. The in-station price is a complete rip-off.

Not to be smart, but you have two choices -- buy online or don't use the train.

vektarman

@KC61, thanks for the detailed information and your boundless patience.

JHMEG

monument wrote: »

A) same really goes for people on any mode of transport, so what's your point?

What is your point here?

C) So what? You do know if ticket prices were cheaper then the subsidy would have to be higher? Right?




Not to be smart, but you have two choices -- buy online or don't use the train.

I thought I was clear: a half-assed commercial pricing model in a state-owned monopoly doesn't sit well.

I say half-assed as it's based on travelling on Fridays and Sundays instead of the beginning and end of the weekend, but I digress.

She would have bought online except the site wouldn't allow her. This was also explained clearly in my first post.