High train fare London to Southampton

[Ramblin Wreck Cruiser]

I have been checking daily for the last week for the fares to become available for our August 6 trip from London to Southampton. I am using the LNER site. I have read on this board that discount tickets should be available around 12 weeks before. Up until today,I kept getting a message that the fares were not available. Today, the fares became available, but the cheapest seems to be £54.50. This seems to be the walk-up fare, not a discount. Am I doing something wrong? Or maybe the discounted fares just haven’t been posted yet?

 

On another note, we are staying at The Clermont Victoria. It looks to me that we can start the journey there and change trains at Waterloo. Is that correct and is it our easiest option? Thank you for your advice!

[Thejuggler]

You need to look for Advance fares.  If they aren't showing yet it is still too early, the 12 weeks is a guide not a promise.

 

Advance tickets are showing for 2nd August so they may well be available tomorrow, just keep checking.

 

To get to Waterloo you will need to take an Underground train service from Victoria.  

[gumshoe958]

Annoyingly, there is no direct tube between Victoria & Waterloo. You have to change trains. I would just jump in a cab or get an Uber, particularly if you’ll have luggage.

 

As @Thejugglersays, keep checking for Advance tickets to Southampton. They should go on sale soon. You are indeed seeing the full walk-up fare.

[Ramblin Wreck Cruiser]

51 minutes ago, Thejuggler said:

You need to look for Advance fares.  If they aren't showing yet it is still too early, the 12 weeks is a guide not a promise.

 

Advance tickets are showing for 2nd August so they may well be available tomorrow, just keep checking.

 

To get to Waterloo you will need to take an Underground train service from Victoria.  

 

8 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Annoyingly, there is no direct tube between Victoria & Waterloo. You have to change trains. I would just jump in a cab or get an Uber, particularly if you’ll have luggage.

 

As @Thejugglersays, keep checking for Advance tickets to Southampton. They should go on sale soon. You are indeed seeing the full walk-up fare.

Thank you both for your replies. I’m a bit confused because the LNER site lets me choose Victoria to Southampton and it says there will be one or two changes of train depending on the time. So it is not as simple as this?

[gumshoe958]

34 minutes ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said:

 

Thank you both for your replies. I’m a bit confused because the LNER site lets me choose Victoria to Southampton and it says there will be one or two changes of train depending on the time. So it is not as simple as this?

 

Yes, it is confusing!

There is an alternative route from Victoria to Southampton, using Southern trains (not Southwestern). But it’s much slower - nearly 3 hours - and does indeed involve changing trains en route. 

Another option is to take a Southern train from Victoria to Clapham Junction (about 5-10 mins) and pick up the Southwestern train from Waterloo to Southampton there. But I don’t think you’ll ever be offered a cheap Advance ticket for that particular route as it involves two different train companies.

 

So if you want to use the train it would be easiest to book an Advance ticket for the direct train from Waterloo (not Victoria) to Southampton, and take a cab, Uber or an 11 or 211 bus from your hotel to Waterloo.

But given where you’re staying you might also consider the direct National Express coach to Southampton from Victoria Coach Station, less than 5 minutes walk from your hotel. The coaches at 8:30 and 10:00 on August 6th are currently only £5.20 per person. You won’t find a better bargain than that!

 

Edited May 16 by gumshoe958

[Ramblin Wreck Cruiser]

27 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

 

Yes, it is confusing!

There is an alternative route from Victoria to Southampton, using Southern trains (not Southwestern). But it’s much slower - nearly 3 hours - and does indeed involve changing trains en route. 

Another option is to take a Southern train from Victoria to Clapham Junction (about 5-10 mins) and pick up the Southwestern train from Waterloo to Southampton there. But I don’t think you’ll ever be offered a cheap Advance ticket for that particular route as it involves two different train companies.

 

So if you want to use the train it would be easiest to book an Advance ticket for the direct train from Waterloo (not Victoria) to Southampton, and take a cab, Uber or an 11 or 211 bus from your hotel to Waterloo.

But given where you’re staying you might also consider the direct National Express coach to Southampton from Victoria Coach Station, less than 5 minutes walk from your hotel. The coaches at 8:30 and 10:00 on August 6th are currently only £5.20 per person. You won’t find a better bargain than that!

 

Wow, thank you! You have been very helpful. I will look into the National Express coach. 

[John Bull]

Yes, you're doing it wrong 😏

Your journey is London Waterloo to Southampton Central.

On the LNER website "Advance single" is the left-hand column, and for the morning of 6th August it's showing between £14 and £16, depending on the train time. 

From 13.05 (1.05pm) fares are showing at only £9.70, but for the small extra saving it's probably best not to run the latest cruise check-in time too close.

The 3rd column at £54.40 is for First Class advance tickets - there's absolutely no need for first class on this journey of about 90 minutes, especially for that premium fare.

The train operator is South-Western, but you can book via any train operator's site - LNER has been suggested because some overseas visitors have had problems using their credit cards.

 

As per @gumshoe958's post you can book from London Victoria to Southampton via a change of train just a few minutes from Victoria at Clapham Junction, where you change to one of those trains which started at London Waterloo -  but at about £54 the fare is the same as the walk-up fare from London Waterloo but with no advance ticket discount.

No discount either for just Clapham Junction to Southampton, so folk living near Clapham Junction would find it about £36 per person cheaper to buy a cheap advance ticket from London Waterloo then travel a few miles in the opposite direction - from Clapham Junction to Waterloo - for just £4.30, and change to the pre-booked London Waterloo to Southampton train. Which calls at Clapham Junction 🙄 

Just one example of the nonsensical fare system on UK trains.

 

So book advance train tickets from London Waterloo & take a cab to Waterloo.

Or take the Nat Express bus from Victoria coach station to Southampton coach station  https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

 

JB 🙂

 

[Cotswold Eagle]

24 minutes ago, John Bull said:

On the LNER website "Advance single" is the left-hand column, and for the morning of 6th August it's showing between £14 and £16, depending on the train time. 

From 13.05 (1.05pm) fares are showing at only £9.70,

JB, like everyone else on this thread, I'm not seeing Advance tickets yet for 6 August. The latest date they are currently showing is 2 August. 

 

(The fare pattern you describe is showing for 6 JULY, though!)

[John Bull]

7 minutes ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

JB, like everyone else on this thread, I'm not seeing Advance tickets yet for 6 August. The latest date they are currently showing is 2 August. 

 

(The fare pattern you describe is showing for 6 JULY, though!)

 

Sorry, my feathered friend, but I'm too busy to answer at the moment.

I'll check & get back to you in 4 days' time 😏🤣

 

JB 🙂

[Cotswold Eagle]

21 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

Sorry, my feathered friend, but I'm too busy to answer at the moment.

I'll check & get back to you in 4 days' time 😏🤣

 

JB 🙂

I see what you did there 😉🤣

[markeb]

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Junction would find it about £36 per person cheaper to buy a cheap advance ticket from London Waterloo then travel a few miles in the opposite direction - from Clapham Junction to Waterloo - for just £4.30, and change to the pre-booked London Waterloo to Southampton train. Which calls at Clapham Junction 🙄 

 

 

Is there actually anything that would keep someone from simply buying an advanced ticket from London Waterloo and boarding at Clapham Junction? Same train? Are the stations close enough together that they might not have finished checking tickets anyway. I'm pretty sure I've always had my ticket checked in the UK (unlike Germany where it's an exception), but not always at the first stations. I remember some stations require a ticket to get to the platform. Just curious. Not something I'd recommend to the OP.

 

 

[gumshoe958]

1 hour ago, markeb said:

 

 

Is there actually anything that would keep someone from simply buying an advanced ticket from London Waterloo and boarding at Clapham Junction? Same train? Are the stations close enough together that they might not have finished checking tickets anyway. I'm pretty sure I've always had my ticket checked in the UK (unlike Germany where it's an exception), but not always at the first stations. I remember some stations require a ticket to get to the platform. Just curious. Not something I'd recommend to the OP.

 

 

Advance tickets can only be used to travel to and from the specified stations on the specified train. So if you were caught joining a train at Clapham Junction with an Advance ticket from Waterloo to Southampton, you’d be in trouble.
 

Now the chances of anyone noticing are slim so YMMV on whether it’s worth the risk. But it’s not without risk, and being caught can have serious consequences.

[Thejuggler]

2 hours ago, markeb said:

 

 

Is there actually anything that would keep someone from simply buying an advanced ticket from London Waterloo and boarding at Clapham Junction? Same train? Are the stations close enough together that they might not have finished checking tickets anyway. I'm pretty sure I've always had my ticket checked in the UK (unlike Germany where it's an exception), but not always at the first stations. I remember some stations require a ticket to get to the platform. Just curious. Not something I'd recommend to the OP.

 

 

Don't do it.  You will be charged the walk up fare plus a penalty fare.

 

For the OP it is easier to get to Waterloo (as mentioned jump in a cab from Victoria, rather than the tube) and board a direct service rather than having to change at Clapham Junction,  Its the busiest interchange in the UK and not somewhere to be hauling luggage around if you have a limited time between services.

[Cotswold Eagle]

2 hours ago, markeb said:

Is there actually anything that would keep someone from simply buying an advanced ticket from London Waterloo and boarding at Clapham Junction?

You’d need a valid ticket from Clapham Junction to get through the ticket barriers. 
 

 

[John Bull]

2 hours ago, markeb said:

 

 

Is there actually anything that would keep someone from simply buying an advanced ticket from London Waterloo and boarding at Clapham Junction? Same train? Are the stations close enough together that they might not have finished checking tickets anyway. I'm pretty sure I've always had my ticket checked in the UK (unlike Germany where it's an exception), but not always at the first stations. I remember some stations require a ticket to get to the platform. Just curious. Not something I'd recommend to the OP.

 

Y'know, something vaguely like that occurred to me while I was typing.

Buy a WAT to SOU advance ticket at about £14. At Victoria buy a ticket to Clapham Junction (about £4), then at Clapham Junct board that booked train.

£20 instead of £54 🙂

It'd probably be fine at stations where any valid ticket gets you thro the barrier to "the platforms".

But at Waterloo, for instance, the barriers are at each pair of platforms - so you need a valid ticket for a train leaving from those platforms.

I don't know the barrier layout at Clapham Junction. 

 

Errr, no, Eagle, I wouldn't suggest that to @Ramblin Wreck Cruiser - I wouldn't want them to be deported 😏

 

And to avoid a charge of assisting an offender, this post will self-destruct in 3 days 👹

 

JB 🙂

 

[Cotswold Eagle]

2 hours ago, John Bull said:

But at Waterloo, for instance, the barriers are at each pair of platforms - so you need a valid ticket for a train leaving from those platforms.

I don't know the barrier layout at Clapham Junction. 

 

Clapham Junction has barriers to enter the station, not between the platforms - I suspect partly because there isn't much room and partly because it would be utter chaos given the number of people who change trains there! 

 

Again, not suggestion anyone take advantage of that to try to game the system😎 For example, one might have to explain at some point why your Advance ticket from Waterloo has not been used at the barriers there....

Edited May 17 by Cotswold Eagle

[Ramblin Wreck Cruiser]

Thank you all for your excellent advice. I believe we will just hop in a cab or two (we are two couples with large bags) and board the train at Waterloo. It seems like the simplest way. Changing at Clapham Junction sounds far too complicated to me.

 

Thank you all again for your wealth of knowledge!

[Ramblin Wreck Cruiser]

I just checked the fares again, and the discounted advanced fares are finally showing. 😃

[gumshoe958]

46 minutes ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said:

Thank you all for your excellent advice. I believe we will just hop in a cab or two (we are two couples with large bags) and board the train at Waterloo. It seems like the simplest way. Changing at Clapham Junction sounds far too complicated to me.

 

Thank you all again for your wealth of knowledge!

Sensible choice. Clapham Junction is an extremely busy commuter station (always used to be the busiest in Britain by number of trains) and isn’t ideal for cruisers dragging large bags. Trains only stop for a few seconds so it’s always a mad rush to get on, and there’s no guarantee of good seats - or even any seats if it’s busy and the train is full when it leaves Waterloo.

 

At Waterloo you should have plenty of time to board, find seats, store your bags and relax. And good news about the tickets!

[markeb]

5 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

Y'know, something vaguely like that occurred to me while I was typing.

Buy a WAT to SOU advance ticket at about £14. At Victoria buy a ticket to Clapham Junction (about £4), then at Clapham Junct board that booked train.

£20 instead of £54 🙂

It'd probably be fine at stations where any valid ticket gets you thro the barrier to "the platforms".

But at Waterloo, for instance, the barriers are at each pair of platforms - so you need a valid ticket for a train leaving from those platforms.

I don't know the barrier layout at Clapham Junction. 

 

Errr, no, Eagle, I wouldn't suggest that to @Ramblin Wreck Cruiser - I wouldn't want them to be deported 😏

 

And to avoid a charge of assisting an offender, this post will self-destruct in 3 days 👹

 

JB 🙂

 

 

As I say, I wouldn't recommend doing it. I'm pretty sure I've got on a number of trains away from the city where you just walked to the platform and there was no barrier at all, but the stations I've used in London in the last few years have all had barriers. Different systems, of course, but on Amtrak leaving New York it's pretty normal that tickets aren't checked before the first stop in Newark. If you had a ticket on that train from New York I'm pretty sure no one would blink (or likely even know) if you boarded in Newark. But the incentive to save money wouldn't be there either. The Deutsche Bahn pretty much only checks tickets as an enforcement action, so again boarding at a later stop probably wouldn't be noticed.

 

I haven't heard of it lately, but there was a highly discouraged (not illegal but violating the terms of your ticket) scheme to buy connecting airline tickets with a carry-on only and not make the connection. There have been cases where, for instance, Washington to Chicago connecting to St Louis was significantly less expensive than buying Washington to Chicago. I think the computers crack down on that more now, but it's probably the most similar to what you were describing for ticket pricing.

 

But with bags, cab to Waterloo, board at the first stop, and direct train would always win!

[Thejuggler]

For £5 extra on the Advance fare I'd consider 1st class.

[ColoradoMom!!]

On 5/17/2024 at 5:36 AM, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said:

I just checked the fares again, and the discounted advanced fares are finally showing. 😃

@Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Thank you for sharing this as I too have been waiting and was able to book for August 3rd, Waterloo to Southampton .

 

On 5/17/2024 at 8:54 AM, Thejuggler said:

For £5 extra on the Advance fare I'd consider 1st class.

 

 @ThejugglerOk mister, you owe me £5 times 2 - ha ha. 

 

You were in my head along with the great @John Bull who wisely says for such a short journey, first class not really necessary, but considering all the money we are saving by taking the train - it's Thejuggler for the win!  The difference of £28 vs £39.60 for 2 tickets.

 

We used LNER and paid £39.60 (for first class) 2 adults total - $50 and change USD  - that's only $25 each for 1st class for hubby and me!  Very Happy and grateful to all this wonderful information shared here!

[mets07]

Can someone give me an idea of approximately how much it costs if we walk up and pay for Waterloo to Southampton train day of cruise?  July 2024. Thank you. 

[markeb]

2 hours ago, mets07 said:

Can someone give me an idea of approximately how much it costs if we walk up and pay for Waterloo to Southampton train day of cruise?  July 2024. Thank you. 

 

It's the £54.50 mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

 

[Thejuggler]

7 hours ago, mets07 said:

Can someone give me an idea of approximately how much it costs if we walk up and pay for Waterloo to Southampton train day of cruise?  July 2024. Thank you. 

The answer is it depends.  There are super off peak tickets at £43 and even on the day it may be possible to buy Advance tickets at £28.