do any of you go to leeds on the train from sheffield is it a frequent service and how much does it cost ?

Until 27th November, it's half price at only £3.50 return :clap:

See here (http://www.sypte.co.uk/more/news/news5.html)

Is that right scutts? i paid £6 the other day. THey`re about every 10 mins in the morning but after about 10 they go to every 20 mins

yeah its on offer- maybe only out of rush hour. but be carefull cos there is 2 trains, one stops all over the place and takes over an hour and a half, but there is one that only takes around 40 mins. and its a virgin train, so cosy clean train for the journey! im embarking on one this am :clap:

You have to use the fast service via Wakefield and it is off-peak only.

From the website quoted above:

Half-price cheap day return tickets are available from Sheffield, Meadowhall and Barnsley Station ticket offices and from conductors on-board the trains. Half-price tickets are valid for travel after 09:30am Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are NOT valid between 4:00pm-6:00pm Monday to Friday for travel in the evening peak.

Trains depart from Sheffield at 51 minutes past the hour, and from Leeds at 16 minutes past the hour. The last departure from Leeds is 20:16, and from Sheffield 19:51.

The half price fare offer will be repeated in the New Year from 7 to 29 January. Please pick up a leaflet at stations along the route.

Thanks for that scutts. Me and her in doors regularly go up to leeds on the train. It`s cheaper than using the car and less hassle even when it`s £6

I was informed by conductor you couldnt get the ticket onboard and that you can only buy from the ticket machine thus making me pay £7.00.

Would appear he was wrong by what the SYPTE say

The Cheap day return (off peak) is £7.00, and the Standard day return (anytime) is £8.90.

The above fares are valid on any operator - Northern, Virgin or Midland Mainline, as long as the train does not go via Doncaster, which is a longer way round and more expensive.

There is currently a half price Cheap Day return promotion, however this is to promote Northern's new express service via Barnsley, and the offer is only valid on those trains. (ie it isn't valid on Northern's stopping train or the Virgin Train). It is also subject to time restrictions.

Both Northern's and Virgin's revenue protection policy is that tickets should always be purchased prior to boarding wherever there is a facility provided to do so, and those caught on the train without a ticket will be charged the most expensive fare (it then goes on about prosecuting fare evaders and all that)

Basically if you are boarding and Sheffield,Meadowhall,Barnsley or Leeds, you need to buy your cheap day return either from the ticket office or the self service machine. If you are boarding at Wakefield Kirkgate, as it is an unstaffed station you may buy it on board from the conductor/guard.

During the daytime, there are four trains per hour between Sheffield and Leeds, 2 fast ones and 2 slow ones. They leave Sheffield at the following times past the hour:

xx:07 stopping train via Barnsley (Northern Rail)
xx:14 stopping train via Dearne Valley (Northern Rail)
xx:21 Express train via Wakefield Westgate (Virgin Trains)
xx:51 Express train via Barnsley (Northern Rail)

The journey time on the Virgin Express is about 45 minutes, the Northern Express takes 58 minutes, and the stoppers take about 75 minutes.

Word of warning about the Virgin train - these are long distance trains that come from down south and are heading for Newcastle or Scotland, so can be much busier than the Northern ones. However, on Virgin you can reserve a seat if you buy your ticket in advance. Also the Virgin train is the only one with on board catering.

Originally posted by damo
Would appear he was wrong by what the SYPTE say

No, the conductor was right - it's the SYPTE's news release that is misleading.....

I prefer national express. Takes 50 minutes, very regular.
Always a comfortable journey, about £4.80 I think (return)

right answer me this if its off peak as they say then that means weekends etc i assume so if i was going to leeds after 5 on a sunday id be screwed or after 7:30 during the week because the ticket office closes early plus the ticket machine doesnt acknowledge such an offer exists!

how the hell ya meant to be able to get the special offer tickets from meadowhall if you cant get them on the train

Originally posted by damo
I was informed by conductor you couldnt get the ticket onboard and that you can only buy from the ticket machine thus making me pay £7.00.

Would appear he was wrong by what the SYPTE say No trains in South Yorkshire will sell you cheap tickets after stations with an OPEN ticket office. Always buy your tickets from the machine or the ticket booths. There are enough posters on the platforms warning of this fact, that and trains closing their doors 30 seconds before departure.

Originally posted by damo
right answer me this if its off peak as they say then that means weekends etc i assume so if i was going to leeds after 5 on a sunday id be screwed or after 7:30 during the week because the ticket office closes early plus the ticket machine doesnt acknowledge such an offer exists!

how the hell ya meant to be able to get the special offer tickets from meadowhall if you cant get them on the train

If the ticket office is closed, then you CAN buy these tickets on board...

i tried putting that across to the conductor but he was having non of it and as for posters on the platform warning of the fact i havent seen a single one at meadowhall or in fact sheffield station only place i have seen it is leeds and bradford interchange

damo..you should take a good look around the concourse at Sheffield then..there are plenty of postes displaying this information.....they've been there for years.....updated regular... and as i was passing thru this evening i checked and yes they are there on the concourse...

and guys it's not just South Yorks where u can't get cheap tickets on trains if there's a ticket office open..it's NATIONAL (published) policy ..full fares only on trains.. it's to discourage fare evasion and while it might be a pain in the ass to have to queue up it'd be a bigger pain if the fares shot up even higher to compensate for evasion..you wuldnt boarda plane without a valid ticket yet people still think they can on trains for some reason

You CAN buy tickets on-board.... But as in every walk of life you come across jobsworths, who enjoy making life difficult. Trust me you can purchase on-board!

yeah m8 you're right you can buy tickets on board BUT the national, printed and published terms and conditions as stated by train operating companies (atoc) clearly states if a booking office is open a valid ticket must be purchased prior to boarding or full price undisconted tickets only sold on trains.

a customer ,down south,who boarded, without a ticket, where a booking office was open and was charged a full undiscounted fare, took the train company to court recentley and lost spectacularly and had to pay costs to the train operator.. the judge remarked it was stated these terms and conditions were clearly stated in alot of rail litreature and rail by laws.Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

And re the comments jobsworth...why is someone who is abiding by the rules a jobsworth? An employee has a responsibility to their employer to adhere to the rules.How does the conductor not know that there's not someone watching onboard the train and if he let you purchase a cheap ticket would probably get disciplined,maybe sacked for breaking the rules all so someone could save a couple of quid.Not worth it in my book.

so what if you rock up to the station 20 mins in advance, there's a mile long queue at the immediate travel booth and out of 5 avaiable desks there are 2 servers, thus not enough time to buy your ticket?.....tried buying ticket from the machine but wouldn't accept my tenner.

Got on board explained this to the conducter, he was very understanding, judged i was being honest and sold me the 3.50 discounted return ticket.

People who judge each case on its merits are awesome, you do get some jobs worths however who lack social skills and are unable to do it.

Im afraid ANDY C is correct, Standard day-return £8.90

MATT

In cases where the ticket office is closed and you get charged full fare, write off to the relevant operator (with your ticket) and 9 times out of 10 they'll refund the cost with rail vouchers...

because thats the policy!!..doh! if the ticket office is closed then a full range of tickets should be sold on board trains.If you are charged a full fare and its verified the ticket ofice is close then you qualify for a refund.

vice versa,If the ticket office is open and you don't purchase a ticket then you are only supposed to be sold full fare tickets

Originally posted by Andy C
During the daytime, there are four trains per hour between Sheffield and Leeds, 2 fast ones and 2 slow ones. They leave Sheffield at the following times past the hour:

xx:07 stopping train via Barnsley (Northern Rail)
xx:14 stopping train via Dearne Valley (Northern Rail)
xx:21 Express train via Wakefield Westgate (Virgin Trains)
xx:51 Express train via Barnsley (Northern Rail)

The journey time on the Virgin Express is about 45 minutes, the Northern Express takes 58 minutes, and the stoppers take about 75 minutes.

Word of warning about the Virgin train - these are long distance trains that come from down south and are heading for Newcastle or Scotland, so can be much busier than the Northern ones. However, on Virgin you can reserve a seat if you buy your ticket in advance. Also the Virgin train is the only one with on board catering.

I travel quite often between Sheffield and Leeds and personnal i would stick to the nothern rail express as the virgins are often deleyed and when they got to a 30min deley theu dont stop at leeds and on a saturday they take as long as the stopping trains as it goes via doncaster. If anyone qualifies for a rail card i would also recommend investing in one of those as it knocks 1/3 of all ticket prices.