Family and Friends Railcard Query

omelette451

gner_ex wrote: »

On balance I think you're probably right. Thinking about it, there is so much padding into cross-London journeys that a plane could be an hour late, you could get on the first Thameslink service and be at Kings Cross in time for your originally-intended train (noting that 'reservations' on FCC are 'suggested service' only.

Does it work like that though? I mean, that even with a 'reservation' on FCC you can just get on another train? I'm not doubting you, I'm just surprised. You can buy advance tickets on some unreservable FGW and Chiltern services, but you still have to travel on the designated train - you just get a reservation slip with *,** in the 'coach,seat' section. That said, isn't FCC DOO? If it is, obviously no one is going to know, so it's fine.

gner_ex

omelette451 wrote: »

Does it work like that though? I mean, that even with a 'reservation' on FCC you can just get on another train? I'm not doubting you, I'm just surprised. You can buy advance tickets on some unreservable FGW and Chiltern services, but you still have to travel on the designated train - you just get a reservation slip with *,** in the 'coach,seat' section. That said, isn't FCC DOO? If it is, obviously no one is going to know, so it's fine.

DOO with a heavy arsenal of mobile ticket checkers. You've now made me unsure - I've certainly seen the "suggested service" notation previously, can anyone else clarify for definite?

dzug1

omelette451 wrote: »

Does it work like that though? I mean, that even with a 'reservation' on FCC you can just get on another train? I'm not doubting you, I'm just surprised. You can buy advance tickets on some unreservable FGW and Chiltern services, but you still have to travel on the designated train - you just get a reservation slip with *,** in the 'coach,seat' section. That said, isn't FCC DOO? If it is, obviously no one is going to know, so it's fine.

Yes but the advance ticket is FOR the FGW/Chiltern service.

In this case the advance ticket is for a long distance service with a connecting suburban service tacked on

omelette451

dzug1 wrote: »

Yes but the advance ticket is FOR the FGW/Chiltern service.
In this case the advance ticket is for a long distance service with a connecting suburban service tacked on

True, but if you have two long-distance services as part if your itinerary you still have to use both of the specified trains, and I've always thought the same rules applied to local connections on the same ticket. I've certainly never seen anything to suggest otherwise.