The profitable art of splitting rail tickets

SIR – Rail bosses now admit that “splitting tickets saves money” (report, May 8). I have been ticket splitting for years. My wife and I regularly use the train for leisure travel and, except for local journeys, I always book split tickets. This involves a bit of effort but yields considerable savings.

For example, the off-peak return fare with a railcard from Cheltenham Spa to Exeter St David’s is £37.95. If you use the same service but book tickets from Cheltenham Spa to Bristol (£6.40 return); Bristol to Taunton (£9.10 return); and Taunton to Exeter (£8.05 return), the journey costs £23.55 – a saving of £14.40, or 38 per cent. It seems ridiculous that customers have to go through this time-consuming process just to get the cheapest fare.

The chief downside of split ticketing is the number of tickets produced. I managed to set a new personal record on Monday when my wife and I travelled to South Devon – I had to use 29 tickets to cover our journey. Roy Hughes

Bromsgrove, Worcestershire

SIR – Split ticketing is specifically allowed in the National Rail Conditions of Travel booklet.

Interestingly, the current issue of the booklet, dated March 11 2018, has a much-reduced explanation of split ticketing – just in time to muddy the waters before the current review perhaps. Gareth Moon

Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire