Question re train ticket collection from a different station

boots_babe

Hi,

My husband travels from Preston to London on the train quite a bit with work at the moment. We've just found that if he buys a ticket from Lancaster (the stop before Preston) to London instead, it is literally half the price.

So, for next week he's booked Lancaster to London ticket, although he'll only be getting on the train at Preston. So far so good.

However he's suddenly got worried, because he's selected to collect the ticket from the FastTicket machine at Preston station, but he'll be collecting it at a time AFTER the train will have left Lancaster i.e. after he is supposed to have caught it (but before it arrives at Preston of course)

Will this be ok, or will the automated FastTicket machine not let him have the ticket?

Thanks.

orb_3

I've never tried to pick up a ticket for a train that has already left the place I was supposed to catch it, but is it not possible for him to pick it up between now & then? I always try to pick up in advance of the day I'm travelling if I can because I've turned up at the station to find no working machines and not very many minutes before my train goes.

And he is aware that if he is caught getting off earlier than the destination of the advance ticket he's bought he risks being liable to pay for a new valid ticket? Although from memory, I think that's unlikely to be a problem at Preston as there are no barriers as such.

boots_babe

Not really an option to collect earlier, as it's about 45 mins away, so 90 min round trip!

Didn't know they would object to you getting off earlier, why on earth would they? In fact he's paid for the seat and not used it so has done them a favour surely?! Seems very odd. Well there are no barriers like you say at Preston so can't see how that could happen. I think the world has gone mad.

orb_3

Seems stupid, but it's true. Martin's article on cheap train tickets mentions it:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets

"Sounds good, but it's banned
Many people do this, on lots of different routes and it's known as travelling 'short', but sadly it's a no-go as it's against the ticket's terms and conditions, and you can get fined if you do."

orb_3

There was quite a high profile example recently in the north-east:

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/842267-academic-fined-155-for-leaving-train-one-stop-too-early

Bigdodgybob

I have collected tickets after the train left.
I was getting the train from Runcorn to London & had bought my ticket online several days before. I was late (as usual), got there & went straight to machine to collect ticket, it gave me the tickets but when I check the info boards the train had left 5/10 mins earlier! so the machine had given me tickets after the train had left. Had to buy new ticket - 40quid because my ticket wasn't valid as it was an advance purchase ticket. never tried it at a different station tho.

Altho I regularly used to get on at Wigan travelling to Glasgow to visit my girlfriend when we were going out (now wife)
but I used to buy my ticket from wigan-preston & preston-glasgow separately cos it was cheaper that getting the train (the same journey) straight from Wigan-Glasgow

wealdroam

OP, you can pick up tickets at any suitable machine.
In your case, aalthough Preston has been stated, it doesn't have to be at Preston.
Collect at Blackburn or Blackpool if you like... if they have machines there... I've not checked that.

I second the idea of collecting the ticket early if possible.
Maybe collect in London on his previous trip?
Just ideas.

Mankysteve

orb wrote: »

I've never tried to pick up a ticket for a train that has already left the place I was supposed to catch it, but is it not possible for him to pick it up between now & then? I always try to pick up in advance of the day I'm travelling if I can because I've turned up at the station to find no working machines and not very many minutes before my train goes.

And he is aware that if he is caught getting off earlier than the destination of the advance ticket he's bought he risks being liable to pay for a new valid ticket? Although from memory, I think that's unlikely to be a problem at Preston as there are no barriers as such.

It depends on the ticket its a advanced saving ticket then no you can't get off early.

What you could do is buy a cheap one stop local ticket and show that to the platform people.

Yes you can collect ticket from different st station as that you get on.

Mark_Hewitt

Mankysteve wrote: »

Yes you can collect ticket from different st station as that you get on.

Yes you can collect your ticket from a different station. But can you collect a ticket for a train which has already departed?!

bods

Travelling short may be banned, however I can tell you that some ticket office staff go to the extent of actually telling you to do it!

This happened to me at Dover and at Eastbourne. For Eastbourne I was heading back to East Croydon (just out of London), and for Dover, somewhere else that wasn't the destination on the ticket. In both cases there was a special offer which would mean it was cheaper to go straight to London. In both cases the ticket staff told us to just get off early and show our ticket to exit at the gates.

We did, no one batted an eye lid. Not that we'd done anything wrong - the staff had clearly voided the condition on that journey!

Mark_Hewitt

It depends if there are barrierrs or regular checks at your destination really.