What is Reddit's opinion of
National Rail Enquiries?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
Popularity Score: 12
This app was mentioned in 13 comments, with an average of 3.31 upvotes
Best Comments
Great information here. For trains you might want to check out the National Rail App, it has up to date times, costs etc. The 'Get Me Home' feature is quite useful if you're uncertain where you are.
I spent a few days in Dublin and Galway during a six week trip of the UK and Ireland - you'll have a blast! From what I remember, the bus from Dublin airport to the city is super easy to wrangle, just prepare yourself for Gaelic (Irish) everywhere. It's really cool though :)
As for the buses, pretty sure the airport bus to the city was a 'pay when you're there' type dealy but the bus from Dublin to Galway had you buy your ticket at the counter. Also, if you have a big pack and might stick out like a sore thumb, keep your wits about you at the Dublin bus station. A few pickpockets lurk around there.
As for hostels, I used the HostelBookers app the entire time I was over in Europe and had zero complaints. Also, if you're planning on using trains, I swore on the National Rail app. Pop in where you are and where you want to be and boom! You're good to go.
Enjoy!
If it's easier, you could use the National Rail app, where you can search journeys and buy tickets. You get a QR code on the app, which you can scan to enter or leave the station, or show it to the ticket inspector if they ask.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationalrail.google
You're better off using the National Rail Enquiries App (Google Play)
You're purchasing straight from the train operators so no fees and the pricing is exactly the same as Trainline and other Third Party Sales Sites.
Hi dude, I'm a Kiwi as well and I went to the UK for the first time last year for a six week solo trip. I'm a massive fan of the British band Enter Shikari, so my trip was mainly fueled by Download festival, but I managed to see a shit tonne of the UK and Ireland after the festival. Excluding home, the UK and Republic of Ireland are probably now my favourite places in the world.
For me, London, Edinburgh and York are must sees. London, for its wealth of things to do (free museums score big in my book) and how easy it is to get around; Edinburgh for the dourness of the Scots and the fact that the entire city looks like a gigantic Gothic Disneyland; and York because it's the perfect level of quaint and it has an incredible bit of architecture parked smack-bang in the middle. I also fell in love with pub culture, and how friendly and witty everyone is.
If there's one piece of advice I could give it's get a Brit Rail Flexi Pass before heading over. I found trains the best way to get around, but they're insanely expensive. Grab one of these bad boys (they're about $350 from memory) and you'll save a shit tonne. They allow you unlimited trains for the specified period (I had 8 days), so whenever you're ready to leave you can just hop on a train and cruise off.
If you have a smartphone, make sure to install the National Rail app and when in London, the 'Citymapper' London app. The National Rail app is awesome will gives you all train timetables in England and Scotland (super handy when you're darting from one place to another) and Citymapper London allows you to choose a destination and it'll give you all the different tubes you need to take to get there. Absolutely invaluable in such a massive city.
If you need any more help, just let me know. I have loads of info I can share.
I am surprised to hear that you guys in the US don't have state wide train apps.
This is what we have in the UK and burn in hell whoever designed it.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationalrail.google
The National Rail app is great. State where you're starting and ending and if it's a single or return. It'll give you train times, if there's any changes, ticket prices and warn you about any delays
I visited NYC recently and noticed a few big differences to be aware of. These aren't related to your questions but might be useful:
1) There are fewer staff. You will not be chaperoned around, and need to make your own way to the platform. People in uniform are available and will be willing to help, and there will be displays and audio announcements.
2) Most platforms have some kind of automated ticket barriers - a bit like city metro stations.
3) You generally need to handle your own luggage, it doesn't get checked in. There are racks at the end of each carriage and overhead storage.
4) Tickets don't necessarily guarantee you a seat on a train. If, when you buy, you are able to select reserved seats, you will be given an extra ticket which has a carriage and seat number. Someone might be in your seat on the day, but it's considered absolutely fine to ask them to move if you have a reservation.
5) Trains are late relatively often, and are often a bit crowded. Sorry! It's not something we're proud of, nationally speaking.
6) You can find train timetables via the Network Rail App - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationalrail.google&hl=en_GB It groups all the different companies' trains together into a single interface. Pay attention to the journey time, because some trains stop at all the local stops and take much longer, even if the overall destination is the same.
On to your actual questions:
-You can buy train tickets at any station and should buy before boarding where facilities are available (machines or ticket desks). If there isn't anywhere to buy them at the station (for example at smaller stations) you may buy them on the train. It may be worth getting a rail card of some kind, but difficult to say without knowing your itinerary.
-The train companies are a mixed bag, but the way it works in the UK is the companies get a franchise for a particular line. So for example if you're travelling from London to Oxford you'll usually use First Great Western, because it runs the line between London and Oxford. Use whatever suits your timetable best.
-I'm not quite sure about temporary railcards and so on, so I'll leave that one to someone else.
-First class is not worth it. It's insanely expensive, and you just get a slightly bigger seat and a free copy of the Times or Telegraph. Try to get reserved seats if you can, but in Standard Class.
No, it's a free app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationalrail.google&hl=en_GB
Though it does have in-app purchases to get rid of ads etc., which is pretty crappy.
If you're looking for quirky and (often) romantic places to stay, check out https://www.quirkyaccom.com/ - they have some really unique locations. [Treehouses/Castles/Hobbit Holes/etc]. Airbnb is also fairly ubiquitous and can be a relatively cheap alternative to hotels.
If you want to be active and see a lot of things, I recommend London/Bristol/Manchester/Edinburgh. They've all got lots to see and do, as well as excellent places to eat.
In cities/short distances, Uber is often your best bet. For inter-city, train is usually the simplest/most frequent but there are coach options available (handy on longer routes/overnight).
[London had several main train stations, each serving a different part of the country. You'll usually simplify your journey by starting from the correct one: https://imgur.com/MiKpeDU]
For getting to Edinburgh, if you can afford it, an internal flight from London is sufficiently more convenient than train/coach to be worth it.
Suggest you download an app for the train network. Each operator has their own app but they all show exactly the same information. Personally I use the official national rail enquiries one?: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationalrail.google&hl=en_GB . If you're in London for any period, you'll want to get around by tube. Map app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mxdata.tube.Market&hl=en_GB
In case you want to check coaches, try https://www.nationalexpress.com/en
There are very few places you need to be overly cautious, but all big cities have their less salubrious areas. You can use the police crime map to check out particular areas: https://www.police.uk/metropolitan/00BK19N/crime/+LfEAZB/
[It used to be really easy to browse, but they've recently made it quite awkward to use - you have to draw out an area.]
Do you have any particular hobbies/interests? I can point you at sailing/diving/airfield/etc...
Do spare at least a day for London... It's worth it.
Cryptomining just won't make you enough money unless you were to get millions of installs AND not a single person notices what you're doing (trust me, that's impossible - either Apple/Google will notice, or users will).
As kbcool says, you need some audience after you've built your app. Success is brought if you either have a killer idea, or you have improved on an existing idea by a huge amount, and that's either by ads, microtransactions, or a price for your app.
Ads can still generate some income, and the best way to do that truly is the slow and steady method - no intrusive full-screen popover ads, no ads which appear as the user presses a button and intercepts the click. Ads aren't a huge money maker until you get 1M+ installs, but they can still reduce any financial impact you take (if any) in the meantime. Going with intrusive ads is one of the key reasons people remove apps, often before they reach the end of a main user flow and that reduces your income and turns people against your other projects. Look at the UK National Rail Enquiries app on the app store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationalrail.google&hl=en_GB) - it's something that thousands of people use every day, and it has unobtrusive banner ads. This is one example of a successful ad model - lots of people need that information, and so it comes with a cost that's not explicitly paid by the users. It's not going to be a huge amount of income, but it's still more effective than cryptomining as many people simply won't go elsewhere for that information. The fact that Expo offers an admob module makes it a nobrainer, but if not on Expo, there's still options out there to implement it yourself.
If finance is your prime concern, you can microtransact almost anything. Offering premiums on extra features that go beyond what 51% of the userbase will need on a daily basis. This could be something as simple as the ability to unlock a 'favourites' option for some data field. Offering currency that's only spendable in-app is another (common with games). Even having a subscription model for an app can work if you offer something that's realtime or streamed (whether it's transport data or copyright audio -- assuming you'd have the necessary licenses in either case). Another common one is paying to remove ads. I know I personally won't pay to remove popover ads, I'd rather uninstall, but I will pay to remove banner ads if it's an app where I really value having that option available.