Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway long weekend trip

Hi as mentioned I'm thinking of taking out a membership of either WHR or FR and spend the long weekend Friday - Tuesday round the area.

Which membership is best for free trips and discounts ?

Do the ticket give you the option of an open return say travel from Porthmadog and stay overnight in Blaenau Ffestiniog, come back the next day then the same thing to Caernarfon.

I understand there's a smaller WHR group that failed in the bid to run the EHR route.

 

FR society membership gives free travel on the FR (10 times pa - the FfWHR, like every other heritage railway, only does day tickets so staying overnight at one end and travelling back the next day would count for 2 of those 10), 50% off on the WHR and 50% off on the Talyllyn (no travel benefits on the WHHR as far as I know)

WHR society membership gives similar benefits (just swap the FR and WHR around).

It does seem a tad disingenuous to get membership *just* to make the tickets cheaper though!

John

 

I’d very much agree with that last comment.

 

Double post

 

Well when money is tight post COVID, you do want to find a cheaper way of doing it while supporting the organisation by buying in the shops etc.

Average standard return or day rover on a large heritage line is averaging around £25 for adults and possibly half that for children and more for special events, a 2 adult 2 child family day out could cost between £80- £110 then food, drinks and train toys on top.

 

I am inclined to agree too. And yet ---- if the railway (Ffr, WHR or any other) management offer such a perk to members, it is a bargain for anyone who either lives in the area or expects to spend enough days there, so it is to be expected that some people will join just for that reason. The railway management need to choose the level of subscription and the number of free or discounted tickets at what they believe will be enough to bring in additional membership subscriptions without losing too much on fares. I'm glad I am not faced by that decision.

 

For the management I would imagine the train is a sunk cost, it will run to timetable regardless of how many is on board, that said they must be getting extra income from food and drink sales almost equivalent to ticket sales.


Anyway my original question was which is more cost effective and what other benefits or discounts from the membership card etc.

 

Yes and no. Paul Lewin (F&WHR GM) has been a very vocal advocate of moving to a pre-booking model, precisely because that makes it easier to identify lightly-loaded services and then consider cutting them from next year's timetable. The ideal is to make sure that every train runs full to capacity so that you're not spending a lot of money shifting fresh air around. Not saying I necessarily agree with his logic, just reporting his policy.

I agree, though, that one shouldn't feel guilty about taking out a membership sub for the sake of the free/discount tickets. Money is tight for many of us, and there's no shame in wanting to get the best value for what we're spending. The railway will still get a decent chunk of money from your membership sub and as you say, there will inevitably be secondary spend during your visit.

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Booking for trains whilst travelling there on the day in question can be quite a problem. IF I were to go to the FfR, I have to book in advance. Now the roads are full of summer traffic, only the other day the A55 was blocked by an accident, likewise the M56., causing delays of over two hours at each incident. My booking would be impossible to honour, due to the lack of services, and my day out ruined. Also a lack of decent electric vehicle charging in the North Wales area means that I have to consider how to travel (even the Welsh Highways personnel have no idea where chargers exist!). As a disabled person, I feel that most days out are now beyond my capabilities...

 

Once paid it's often hard to get a refund or it can be non refundable with some lines, I prefer to keep my options open, like you said if there a crash or delay, I can go somewhere else instead.

 

That is not very persuasive. Whether or not people have to book in advance, you can see how full or otherwise a train is and decide whether to run it next year or next week.

 

Well, in simple numbers, FR Society membership is £41 (though I think its about to go up if I recall the AGM correctly), WHR society membership is £50, an FR return ticket is £49.50, the WHR return ticket is £69.50, both give you free travel on their respective railways, 50% off on the other one, and 50% off on the Talyllyn too. You get 4 magazines a year for both.

John

 

There is electric car charging at Tesco and at the Cambrian station. If you stay at the sportsman hotel they also have a supercharger.

Just to be clear you dont have to book in advance, there are spaces on the day. It just makes it easier to forecast demand and thus reduce costs.

 

With those prices, why would anyone buy a ticket?

 

Membership cannot be purchased immediately, the card can take a week or two to come through. Until you have it you cannot book or use any free/discounted travel.

I suspect most 'normal' visitors simply don't know about the option, or only find out once it's too late.

 

You make them sound like Muggles

 

You mean you've never departed from Porthmadog Harbour Platform 1¾?
The trick is to run really fast at the glass barriers outside Spooners!

 

Why don't you look at the Great Little Trains of Wales pass https://www.greatlittletrainsofwales.co.uk/en/discount-card

That way, you get a discount, the railways make money and you can come back within the year for some of the other railways.

 

Indeed. When I volunteered as a Guard at Ruislip Lido many years ago, I had to tick a box on the trip log form if a train ran full to capacity, or another if it ran with fewer than ten passengers. It is certainly possible to capture the data.

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It is then also about what is done with the data. The ability of the Festiniog to run extra workings and add them to the website helps support the case for pre-booking, so that there is not just the intelligence for future, but the knowledge that capacity is being matched with demand.