The Trainline

Train ticket guru Barry Doe does not recommend the trainline for buying tickets on line. One reason he gives is the £1 minimum fee charged (which Raileasy also charges, and which he also doesn't recommend). He points out that if you start from http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ (a good journey planning / ticket price site, he says) you will click through to a train operating company's (TOC's) ticket buying site. Many, but not all TOCs don't charge a fee even though the ticket "engine" is the same one.

Trainline "hidden" fees

I still think the trainline is an excellent on-line train ticket site - and the presentation has improved somewhat since I last used it - but I am a bit cross that they add an "arrangement fee" of at least 50p and then a separate fee of at least 50p for the privilege of paying. This minimum total fee of £1 is unavoidable and they should be up-front about it. The first 50p is for if you collect your tickets from a fastticket machine. Having them posted first-class costs £1 and there are more expensive delivery options. The second 50p is for paying by debit card, cerdit cards being £2.50.

Rival Raileasy is a bit better in that it mentions the £1 fee it charges on the screen after you press "buy".

Raileasy

www.raileasy.co.uk/

Raileasy is a new train ticket website and rival to www.thetrainline.co.uk/ . It claims that it copes better with situation where two singles are cheaper than a return - sometimes the case in our potty ticketing regime - but disappointingly it makes no mention of Goldcards. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concessionary_fares_on_the_British_railway_network#Gold_Card_and_Gold_Card_Partner.27s_Card). I have pointed out this shortcoming to them, but in the meantime if you have a Goldcard double check the fares on The Trainline. There's a £2 booking fee on Raileasy.