Rail Travel: Tips on Cheap Tickets

dzug1

ticketcollector wrote: »

You are aware that purchasing a ticket priced at a lower price and getting off at a station earlier (which would have cost more) can result in you being charged the difference in price. If you get caught by Fraud they will Caution you and recommend you for prosecution for fare evasion. Its in the NCoC and Ticket Examiners Handbook.

Um no. You are entitled with most ticket types to break your journey at an intermediate station. Who polices whether you actually resume your journey?

ticketcollector

dzug1 wrote: »

Um no. You are entitled with most ticket types to break your journey at an intermediate station. Who polices whether you actually resume your journey?

Well I've actually cautioned someone for stopping short because they refused to pay the difference. It got to court and they were fined £260 plus £150 costs.
If that person would have paid the 90pence difference they would have been fine.
Be aware that on some ticket types you cant break your journey

Break of Journey is not available:-
•with Advance Purchase tickets issued from a quota;
•for the outward journey with Saver, SuperSaver and Network AwayBreak tickets;
•for any ticket with a validity shown as not available at intermediate stations;
•At London Underground (LU) stations other than at LU stations on a Train Company route where Train Company trains are scheduled to call, and subject to the general terms and conditions of the ticket permitting break of journey.

EXAMPLE: with a Cheap Day Return from Luton to Brighton, break of journey is permitted at Kentish Town or Farringdon.

These conditions do not apply to:
1.Travelcards, which allow unlimited journeys within their zones of availability (see Section K).
2.Journeys made on LU tickets between LU-controlled stations on interavailable routes (see Section L).

Break of journey is always available for changing between trains and stations to continue the journey.

sawanderer

Details of cheap e-tickets that you need to print before travelling or receive your ticket on your mobile phone. More details in the Cheapest Train Fares thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11018531&postcount=109

Stations where e-tickets can be used:

• London
• Manchester
• Cambridge
• Eagleslciffe
• Hartlepool
• Northallerton
• Sunderland
• Thirsk
• York
• Luton Airport
• Birmingham
• Stratford upon Avon
• Great Missenden
• Banbury
• Bicester

Baybee1984

Random, but do under 5's go free on a train?
Im taking my 4 year old to Birmingham, from Leicester next week, on his first train journey, for a shopping trip. Anyone any idea how much it'd be for him?
I know its about £8.50 for myself.

gner_ex

I'm almost positive that under 5's are still free... ask at your local ticket office to be sure.

gner_ex

ticketcollector wrote: »

Well I've actually cautioned someone for stopping short because they refused to pay the difference. It got to court and they were fined £260 plus £150 costs.
If that person would have paid the 90pence difference they would have been fine.
Be aware that on some ticket types you cant break your journey

I assume there were specific circumstances to the above, i.e. they were trying to exit a station where their ticket didn't work at the barrier, and wasn't a type of ticket that allowed break of journey? Mind if I ask what ticket they had, and where they tried to alight at?

As a fellow professional, you're doubtless familiar with NRCOC clause 16. The text you posted, whilst I agree with it, do you have a link to share for others? Just to clarify, that relates to break of journey, rather than cutting short (though I accept they are similar).

I cannot see a way that (someone with a Finsbury Park to Farringdon) cheap day return can be policed once they have left the barriers at Kings Cross suburban to ensure that they do indeed enter St Pancras Int, and not for example head down Euston Road or into the pub or die et cetera. However, I accept that someone with a London Terminals to Harringay ticket may (in certain circumstances) be committing a minor violation by exiting Finsbury Park station.

As I'm sure you well know, the only reason the Finsbury Park to London Terminals fare is now £4 is because oyster is valid, and the high pricing is to discourage people from daring to use paper tickets, and to use oyster PAYG instead. Given my general dislike of Ken Livingstone's surveillance society, I will continue to help others avoid it where there are legitimate ways to do so.

ticketcollector

gner_ex wrote: »

I assume there were specific circumstances to the above, i.e. they were trying to exit a station where their ticket didn't work at the barrier, and wasn't a type of ticket that allowed break of journey? Mind if I ask what ticket they had, and where they tried to alight at?

As a fellow professional, you're doubtless familiar with NRCOC clause 16. The text you posted, whilst I agree with it, do you have a link to share for others? Just to clarify, that relates to break of journey, rather than cutting short (though I accept they are similar).

I cannot see a way that (someone with a Finsbury Park to Farringdon) cheap day return can be policed once they have left the barriers at Kings Cross suburban to ensure that they do indeed enter St Pancras Int, and not for example head down Euston Road or into the pub or die et cetera. However, I accept that someone with a London Terminals to Harringay ticket may (in certain circumstances) be committing a minor violation by exiting Finsbury Park station.

As I'm sure you well know, the only reason the Finsbury Park to London Terminals fare is now £4 is because oyster is valid, and the high pricing is to discourage people from daring to use paper tickets, and to use oyster PAYG instead. Given my general dislike of Ken Livingstone's surveillance society, I will continue to help others avoid it where there are legitimate ways to do so.

I cant really go into exact details on this on a public forum, but this was not a one-off. This person was doing this on a regular basis and we had someone following him for a week.

gner_ex

Any chance you could PM the the three stations concerned, just for my own curiousity? Don't worry if you'd rather not.

yorkie2

gner_ex wrote: »

Any chance you could PM the the three stations concerned, just for my own curiousity? Don't worry if you'd rather not.

I suspect the stations are somewhere like Flint, Chester and Euston!

If I am wrong please PM me

ticketcollector

yorkie2 wrote: »

I suspect the stations are somewhere like Flint, Chester and Euston!

If I am wrong please PM me

Your miles out.