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Turning to my boyfriend and travel companion James, I told him we had to get off our train.
We were an hour-and-a-half into a three-and-a-half journey from London to Carlisle and I’d surprised him with the announcement.
We were only at Crewe and James’s face said it all.
You may be asking: Why on earth did I make poor James lug his bags onto a cold platform in the middle of nowhere, when we could have just stayed put?
Because, little did James know, within an hour we’d be sitting in bigger seats, sipping complimentary tea and eating shortbread, all because I’d secured us two first-class tickets without spending a fortune.
If you book trains a lot, you may already know about ‘split ticketing’ – when separate tickets for different parts of the same journey work out cheaper than one through-ticket.
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Even if you aren’t familiar with this hack, the good news is that many booking sites (including Train Pal and Trainline) will now find these splits for you and let you book them in one go. It’s a great way to save some cash on the ever-increasing price of rail fares.
Sadly, even when doing this, the price of the same journey in first-class can still be unattainable, often adding more than £100 to the total.
However, the split ticketing hack did give me an idea.
What if I could split my ticket between not only destinations, but classes as well? Was it possible to sit part of the way in standard and then swap to first-class? And, similar to standard tickets, were there legs that would end up being much cheaper to upgrade?
Laptop out, I quickly discovered that an advance one-way journey from London to Carlisle (on December 20, 2024 at 12:33) would cost £52.90 in standard thanks to a split-ticket fare and a Two Together Railcard. First-class, however, came in at a whopping £113.40 – even with the railcard applied – which was way out of my budget.
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But this is where my theory came into play. Sat on my sofa, I began the arduous task of checking what the first-class price from every stop on my journey between London to Carlisle was to see if any were worth coughing up for.
I quickly recognised that most journeys departing the capital came with a bigger price tag, but if I was willing to start in standard and then change to first-class as I got closer to Carlisle, I could be in business – literally.
That’s when I found a one hour and 54 minute Crewe to Carlisle leg for just £37.25 in first-class with a Two Together Railcard. Even a standard ticket was only £11.30!
I now just needed to buy the standard ticket on the same train to get me to Crewe – but that’s when I saw how I could make it even cheaper.
Similar to flights, if you’re willing to add in a ‘layover’ at a train station, you can sometimes cut the price even further.
And the train between London and Crewe an hour earlier was even cheaper – just £23.60 each with a railcard.
By accepting a 60-minute wait, I had shaved another £20 off per person.
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So all in all, I’d managed to nab our entire journey for just £60.85 each – only £8 more than a standard straight trip – but with nearly two hours of it in first-class with free food and drink.
Now the only thing left to do was surprise James with my find.
The trip started like any other: we boarded our train at London Euston where, for once, everything was running on time, stashed our bags and had snacks in hand.
James settled in and actually looked quite content until I told him we’d be disembarking at Crewe.
He grumbled as we lugged our bags off the train that I’d made us do this ‘just to shave a couple of quid off the ticket price’, which I suppose is accurate.
Then he complained incessantly for the entire hour waiting for our next train – no one had told me at that point we could have actually used the first-class lounge at Crewe during our wait, oops!
But I knew I’d get the last laugh.
When our train finally pulled in, I said nothing. Instead, I waited for him to clock the subtle differences: the bigger seats, the complimentary drinks, the plug sockets by our seats and just the overall nicer and quieter ambience.
When the penny finally dropped and he realised, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mood swing so quickly.
He threw his arms in the air, punching the sky, and suddenly James was a changed man. A free cheese board, an onion bhaji, and a Bloody Mary later, and I was officially forgiven.
For me, watching his frown dissolve into delight was worth every second. And I loved feeling like I’d beaten the system.
Plus, there was something genuinely fun about the process. I know most people don’t want to spend their evening cross-referencing train stops, but I’ll happily sit there for an hour with a cuppa and a spreadsheet if it means we can travel in comfort for less.
I did this last year at Christmas when the trains are always so busy, and so I’d definitely do it again this year for another festive treat and I can’t wait to start hacking the system once more.
And overall, my advice to you is if you’ve ever dreamed of going first-class but balked at the price, remember: you don’t have to do it all the way.
If you’re someone who finds travelling stressful, I’d say stick to split-ticketing tools and look out for cheap first-class legs on the same train.
But if you’re more flexible and up for a bit more adventure, piecing together a journey yourself can lead to even more savings.
After all, who doesn’t want more legroom, free snacks, peace and quiet and yes, the smugness that comes with travelling in first-class?
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