A step-by-step guide on how to book UK cross-country transportation via Trainline
August 26, 2018
Hi folks! If you’ve been following my blog or Instagram, I’ve essentially just finished a 10-day UK cross-country trip and absolutely enjoyed it! Having said that, I know planning it was a pain, and so I’ve decided to write up some helpful blog posts which might help you plan YOUR trip. So, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to book UK cross-country transportation via Trainline (my ultimate tip!!)
Table of contents
- Why use Trainline?
- How to book UK cross-country transportation via Trainline?
- Who to call in case of issues while booking?
- How to redeem tickets when in the UK?
- Final advice to fellow travellers
Why use Trainline?
Because I am an absolute cheapskate, I always meticulously plan my trip (or I try to) and ensure I get the most value for my money! To do so, I try my best to compare prices and time schedules for trains/coaches across multiple platforms. You can imagine how painful this could get – ESPECIALLY since I’m not exactly familiar with the train and coach companies in the UK (plus they start to vary from region to region)
That’s where Trainline comes in (btw, this is not a paid post at all – I just looove Trainline so much – it was a literal lifesaver!) Trainline helps users (like me!) by:
- Saving you time since Trainline aggregates train and coach prices + time schedules across multiple providers (think Skyscanner for flights – also another favorite of mine)
- Saving you money since Trainline highlights the cheapest prices + provides ticket alerts so you can be notified when advance tickets come available!
- Saving you from mental exhaustion as the Trainline app (available for both Android and Apple)
Of course, be aware that not ALL companies are part of Trainline, but it’s quite comprehensive and I’m pretty happy so far!
How to book UK cross-country transportation?
First, head to the Trainline website. The site is pretty intuitive – fill in the relevant details of your journey (as seen in below photo). At this point, it would be best for you to be more specific in terms of dates and locations
For example: I placed Bristol Temple Meads instead of just Bristol, because I knew the other Bristol train stations are quite far from where I’m staying (Google Maps is your best friend here!). Nevertheless, if you just want to get to that city, and don’t mind where exactly you get off – then you can put in a generic location (e.g., I place London, as I figure I can get to most stations in London via the Tube anyway)
From here, you’ll be redirected to a page where all the available options will be shown. I love this, because you’ll notice how they everything’s clearly marked (including options for train vs coach, as well as how many times you’d have to change stations before you get to your final destination
In this case, I would probably go for the coach option – simply because it’s >50% cheaper, will only take ~15mins more, AND is a direct bus (I clicked on the coach tab to check)
Choose your option, then you can continue to the “Pay” option. NOTE: If you’re planning multiple trips, try to book everything in one go, as there’s an admin fee (for trains and coach, separately). I won’t walk you through that anymore, as I think it’s pretty straightforward
The only thing I want to lay out is you’ll have an option to:
- Collect from any station with a ticket machine or window: This is the most hassle option, so don’t do this unless you have no choice. NOTE: For this option, you need to present the credit card used to purchase the ticket at the station)
- Mobile ticket / eTicket: This is obviously the better option (plus it’s paper-free). The ticket (with barcode) will be sent to your email, which you can then print. Better yet, download the Trainline app, and all your bookings will be found there. Easy-peasy!
Who to call in case of issues while booking?
I don’t know why, but I’m a magnet for trouble. So every time I try to book something, something invariably goes wrong. In this case, the payments page wouldn’t load (apparently, they were experiencing system issues at that time). Lucky for you, that means I can tell you what to do in case you’re experiencing issues…
Go to this page; and start with the FAQs section. If that doesn’t work, email/FB message/tweet them first. Last resort would be to call them up. For me, because it was payments-related and quite a huge sum of money, I ended up calling them up to get it sorted as soon as possible. Thankfully, they were extremely helpful (although the waiting time is quite long and my phone bill was ATROCIOUS – so don’t do this unless it’s an emergency)
How to redeem tickets when in the UK?
If you’re stuck with the “Collect from any station with a ticket machine or window” option, you’ll have to manually get your ticket once you land in the UK. Thankfully, it’s a relatively fast option, and you can do this at any of the train stations!
Near the ticket booths, you’ll see pre-paid ticket machines lying around
Head to one, and follow the machine instructions – make sure you have:
(1) The credit card used when buying the tickets online, as you’ll have to insert this into the machine
(2) The ticket collection reference (which should have been sent to you via email / in the mobile app) as you’ll need to punch this into the machine
Afterwards, two pieces of paper will pop out. One is your ticket (pls store this carefully – do NOT lose it); and the other is your receipt
Final advice to fellow travellers
- For best prices, be sure to buy in advance (at least ~1-3 months in advance – the earlier the better!)
- I can’t stress this enough – but do download the Trainline app (available for both Android and Apple). It’s incredibly well-organized, and has ALL your train information there (including the reference code). This way, you won’t need to print out your tickets (help save the earth!), plus it’s incredibly easy to refer to your phone at any time (because we always have our phones with us)
- Enjoy, have fun! This is just the start of a wonderful journey!
Stay tuned for the rest of my 9 day cross-country trip around the United Kingdom!! 🙂 See below for my schedule:
| Day 1 | Bristol |
| Day 2 |
Stratford-upon-Avon
|
| Day 3 & 4 | Windermere |
| Day 5 & 6 | Edinburgh |
| Day 7 |
London (Musicals & Museums)
|
| Day 8 |
Brighton & Seven Sisters
|
| Day 9 |
London (Shoreditch)
|
Hey, how’s it going?
I want to pass along some very important news that everyone needs to hear!
In December of 2017, Donald Trump made history by recognizing Jerusalem as the captial of Israel. Why is this big news? Because by this the Jewish people of Israel are now able to press forward in bringing about the Third Temple prophesied in the Bible.
Jewish Rabbis have publicly announced that their Messiah will be revealed in the coming years who will be a leader and spiritual guide to all nations, gathering all religions under the worship of one God. They deny Jesus as their Messiah, and the Bible tells us this Jewish Messiah will be the counterfiet that will bring about a false peace, and ultimatley the great tribulation.
They even printed a coin to raise money for the Temple with Donald Trumps face on the front and with king Cyrus'(who built the second Temple) behind him. On the back of the coin is an image of the third Temple.
More importantly, the power that runs the world wants to put a RFID microchip in our body making us total slaves to them. This chip matches perfectly with the Mark of the Beast in the Bible, more specifically in Revelation 13:16-18:
“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”
Referring to the last days, this could only be speaking of a cashless society, which we have yet to see, but are heading towards. Otherwise, we could still buy or sell without the mark amongst others if physical money was still currency. This Mark couldn’t be spiritual because the word references two different physical locations. If it was spiritual it would just say in the forehead. RFID microchip implant technology will be the future of a one world cashless society containing digital currency. It will be implanted in the right-hand or the forehead, and we cannot buy or sell without it! We must grow strong in Jesus. AT ALL COSTS, DO NOT TAKE IT!
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9-11).
People have been saying the end is coming for many years, but we needed two key things. One, the Third Temple, and two, the technology for a cashless society to fulfill the prophecy of the Mark of the Beast.
Visit http://WWW.BIBLEFREEDOM.COM to see proof for these things and much more!
If you haven’t already, it is time to seek God with all your heart. Jesus loves you more than you could imagine. He wants to have a relationship with you and redeem you from your sins. Turn to Him and repent while there is still hope! God bless!