maniacmartin

Previously, I thought that that the cheapest way to travel from Market Rasen to Oxford and back was a Saver Return (Route not via London) with a Young Person’s 16-25 Railcard, costing £32.35.

However, that was before I learnt about Split Tickets. Basically, if on both your journeys, your train goes through a certain station, and the train makes a stop there, buying 2 tickets — one to this station, and one from that ticket to the destination — may be cheaper.

This is usually when traveling to a busy station from far away. Get a ticket to an en-route nearby small station, then a ticket from this station to your destination.

First of all, I needed to find an outgoing and return route that were the same, as previously I have taken previous outbound and return routes. Such a route exists, and it is:
Market Rasen → Lincoln → Nottingham → Birmingham New St → Oxford.

In this case, the greatest saving can be made by splitting around Leamington Spa, 2 stops up the line from Oxford. This also holds for returns from Oxford to Market Rasen.
The Saver Return with 16-25 Railcard from Market Rasen to Leamington Spa is £20.95, and from Leamington Spa to Oxford is £9.10, totaling £30.05, which is £2.30 or 7.1% less than a direct return ticket. Enough to pay for a sandwich en route

Note that if you buy these tickets, you’re committed to traveling via your split point on the return route. This is not a problem for me, as all non-London routes between Market Rasen and Oxford stop at Leamington Spa.

Also, on busy routes, 2 singles may be cheaper than a return. So, with split tickets, the cheapest way to do a return might involve 4 single tickets.