Is this allowed?

arcon5

So train goes from x to y and goes through jus one other station on-route, station z.

Station x has barriers, thus buy tickets at station.
Station y and z are merely platforms, ie no machine and unmanned.

Price for x to y is say £5. But to get on at z to go to y (thus shorted journey) is say £7.50.

So is it wrongful to buy the cheaper ticket for x to y (collect tickets from station x a few days before journey) but board the train at station z?

Thanks

Cornucopia

It depends on the type of ticket and the grouping of stations.

If you post the station names, the experts will tell you.

arcon5

One of the routes would be

Lincoln Central --> Saxilby --> Gainsborough Lea Road

Wanting to get on at Saxilby.
L to G is £3 at particular times or £4.30 for S to G (wierd pricing).

Would be a single.

Cornucopia

The £3 fares appear to be Advance Single. These are restricted tickets and you must join the train and get off at the specified stations.

Unless one of the train fare experts knows better...

zerog

Cornucopia wrote: »

The £3 fares appear to be Advance Single. These are restricted tickets and you must join the train and get off at the specified stations.

This is correct.

The regular single ticket (Anytime Single) between Lincoln and Gainsborough Lea Road costs £6.00. This permits you to start, end, or break then resume your journey at Saxilby (on the same day).

If you buy the Advance ticket for £3.00 and the guard has been checking tickets between Lincoln and Saxilby, then he will realise that you have not boarded at Lincoln and ask you to buy a new ticket.

As there are no ticket purchase facilities at Saxilby, you are permitted to board the train without buying a ticket first.

thebishopp

That's seriously confusing... if the ticket covers the journey and the passenger uses the correct trains, just for slightly less than the total journey paid for, how could it possibly result in buying an extra ticket? The tickets cover specific trains from a to c, so the passenger boarding at b in the middle is not breaking any laws or rules, simply choosing not to utilise part of their paid for ticket.

It isn't as if they'd boarding at A but only paying from B. Where does it state they may have to buy a new ticket?

LexyBoy

thebishopp wrote: »

That's seriously confusing... if the ticket covers the journey and the passenger uses the correct trains, just for slightly less than the total journey paid for, how could it possibly result in buying an extra ticket? The tickets cover specific trains from a to c, so the passenger boarding at b in the middle is not breaking any laws or rules, simply choosing not to utilise part of their paid for ticket.

It isn't as if they'd boarding at A but only paying from B. Where does it state they may have to buy a new ticket?

Well, actually it is breaking the rules and the law. Clearly ATOC agree that it is confusing though as they have issued guidance to the train companies not to penalise passengers for starting short in this way - but that is only guidance.

It's in the contract you enter into when you buy a ticket - defined by the Conditions of Carriage:

16. Starting, breaking or ending a journey at intermediate stations


[FONT=Univers 45 Light,Univers 45 Light][FONT=Univers 45 Light,Univers 45 Light]You may start, or break and resume, a journey (in either direction in the case of a return ticket) at any intermediate station, as long as the ticket you hold is valid for the trains you want to use. You may also end your journey (in either direction in the case of a return ticket) before the destination shown on the ticket. However, these rights may not apply to some types of tickets for which a break of journey is prohibited, in which case the Ticket Seller must make this clear when you buy your ticket.[/FONT][/FONT]


[FONT=Univers 45 Light,Univers 45 Light][FONT=Univers 45 Light,Univers 45 Light]If you start, break and resume, or end your journey at an intermediate station when you are not entitled to do so, you will be liable to pay an excess fare. This excess fare will be the difference between the price paid for the ticket you hold and the price of the lowest priced ticket(s) available at a ticket office for immediate travel that would have entitled you to start, break and resume, or end your journey at that station on the service(s) you[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Univers 45 Light,Univers 45 Light][FONT=Univers 45 Light,Univers 45 Light]have used. [/FONT][/FONT]

(my highlighting)

The T&Cs of the particular ticket type say:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46546.aspx wrote:

Break of journey
You may not start, break and resume, or end your journey at any intermediate station except to change to/from connecting trains as shown on the ticket(s) or other valid travel itinerary

(To change Advance tickets an admin fee of £10 applies, so a new ticket is cheaper than an excess fare - if the Advance costs more than £10 the excess should be sold).

Cornucopia

Those are the rules - an Advance ticket is for a specific train, between two specific stations.

I recall a case of someone being fined for getting off at the station before their destination on an Advance ticket.

cookie365

If you ever get a National Express coach from Gatwick to Heathrow, you might find yourself paying more than people travelling from Brighton to Heathrow via a change of coach at .... Gatwick.