VT’S HOPING THAT THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE TRAIN

As it faces up to trying to fill trains in what it’s called a “changed” market (SR495), Vintage Trains is bringing in ‘early bird’ fares.

Under the scheme, First Class Dining is £199 rather than £229. That puts VT firmly into Saphos territory – an outfit that’s made a bit of a speciality out of early booking savings. A peek at a forthcoming run with the latter shows Premier Dining is also £199. (Full price is a bit more than VT’s, at £250).

VT’s scheme also covers its ‘Club Class with Afternoon Tea’ (at £129 not £149). There’s perhaps no direct Saphos comparison for that one; but the latter’s First Class – which includes tea/coffee and so on – is £99 (full price £145).

Worth noting too are the two organisations’ differing views of what ‘early’ means: in VT’s case it’s up to six weeks before a train, with Saphos up to 30 days.

However, neither of these are the biggest differences between the promoters. For VT is pushing certain classes only – and not including its lowest price tickets. So the bad news for Standard Class customers is that a trip on (for example) Tyseley’s October 12 ‘Chester Venturer’ will still cost you £99 whenever you book.

In contrast, it’s now pretty well known that if you book early with Saphos, a Standard ticket will set you back £65 instead of £95. Or put another way, if you do want to spend £99, you can go First.

Overall, when you consider other promoters too, there’s now quite a variation opening up in the market – though as a gricer, it’ll likely still be the specifics of a particular train that draw you the most.

●● As predicted by the Tyseley outfit, Vintage Trains’ Safety Certificate has been extended by the Office of Rail and Road. The original certificate – an essential bit of paperwork for the new Train Operating Company that started operations in 2018 – was issued for a year. VT heard it had been given the new one in late July.