Is there any way for me to get this train without paying over the odds?

rebeccak

My father is travelling from Blackpool to Gatwick and has purchased his ticket which is as follows:

Departs Arrives By Reservations
11:21 - Blackpool North 11:49 - Preston Train (NORTHERN) Reserved - no seat allocated.
11:58 - Preston 14:13 - London Euston Train (VIRGIN TRAINS) Coach: A Seat: 18
14:13 - London Euston 15:00 - London Victoria Tube (Unknown Service Provider) Reservation not possible.
15:00 - London Victoria 15:30 - Gatwick Airport Train (GATWICK EXPRESS) Reservation not possible.

I am travelling from Manchester to Gatwick and the plan was that I would meet him at Euston and accompany him on the tube journey and the train to Gatwick.

However, if I want to buy an advanced ticket for the whole journey it will not offer me the same train to Gatwick.

My nearest options are:

11:55 Manchester Piccadilly - 14:05 London Euston (VIRGIN TRAINS)
14:05London Euston - 14:45London Victoria (Tube )
14:45 London Victoria - 15:15Gatwick Airport (GATWICK EXPRESS)

or:

12:15 Manchester Piccadilly - 14:24 London Euston (VIRGIN TRAINS)
14:24 London Euston - 15:06 London Victoria (Tube)
15:06 London Victoria - 15:38 Gatwick Airport (SOUTHERN)

I contacted Virgin to ask if the 'specific train' condition also applied to the non-Virgin part of the journey and was told that it does and that I could only get agreement to travel on a different train if the first train was delayed.

If I separately buy the two train tickets and tube ticket it will be considerably more expensive (and I wouldn't have any protection if the first train is late and I miss my connection). Do I have any other options? If the Gatwick Express doesn't do reservations, is it actually a requirement to travel on a particular train?

agrinnall

What do you regard as "considerably more expensive"? The Anytime single fare on the Gatwick Express is £17.80, so even if you have to buy that ticket separately that doesn't seem like a huge extra cost. However, if you give the date of travel I'm sure the experts will offer some specific advice.

Strider590

IIRC it's cheaper to take a flight to a city in Europe and then back to your destination.

cookie365

Strider590 wrote: »

IIRC it's cheaper to take a flight to a city in Europe and then back to your destination.

You don't remember correctly.

pompeyrich

agrinnall wrote: »

What do you regard as "considerably more expensive"? The Anytime single fare on the Gatwick Express is £17.80, so even if you have to buy that ticket separately that doesn't seem like a huge extra cost. However, if you give the date of travel I'm sure the experts will offer some specific advice.

having looked on NRE website an advance single from Manchester to Gatwick can be as little as £25.50. So another £17.80 + £2.40/£4.90 tube does seem "considerably more expensive".

OP I would suggest your Dad could catch the same service to Gatwick. When I have booked advanced tickets for travel via London, only the "main" bit of the journey, from London and back have been strictly controlled, the connections from Portsmouth to London seem more flexible.

securityguy

"If I separately buy the two train tickets and tube ticket it will be considerably more expensive (and I wouldn't have any protection if the first train is late and I miss my connection)."

Yes, you would. You don't have the buy the tickets in one transaction, or as a single ticket, you merely need to have, before you set off, a set of tickets or other permissions to travel that form a valid journey (ie, meeting requirements for minimum interchange times) and to turn up at the first station on time for the first train.

Section 12, page 9 of the Conditions of Carriage if you need to argue the toss. "

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/NRCOC.pdf

"If you purchase an Advance ticket, you must use that ticket in the train specified when you book your ticket. However, if you miss this service because a previous connecting train service was delayed you will be able to travel on the next service provided by the Train Company with whom you were booked to travel without penalty."

HappyMJ

I'd go to Warrington Bank Quay and travel with him from there....but that's me.

It's cheaper to go from Manchester to Warrington (£4.30) then on to London on the same train as his than it is to go straight from Manchester to London direct.

Strider590

cookie365 wrote: »

You don't remember correctly.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jan/27/blogger-claims-to-save-772-from-sheffield-to-essex-by-flying-via-berlin

cookie365

Strider590 wrote: »

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jan/27/blogger-claims-to-save-772-from-sheffield-to-essex-by-flying-via-berlin

Last time I checked Manchester isn't in Sheffield and Gatwick Airport isn't in Essex.

And he only 'saved' money by deliberately miscomparing the most expensive unrestricted train fare with the cheapest restricted flight.

Kite2010

cookie365 wrote: »

Last time I checked Manchester isn't in Sheffield and Gatwick Airport isn't in Essex.

And he only 'saved' money by deliberately miscomparing the most expensive unrestricted train fare with the cheapest restricted flight.

Plus 'saved' money by not buying the slightly overpriced food & drink on board the train rather than a meal-deal from Superdrugs at Sheffield station (or bringing a packed lunch).

As for the point in question, does the GTR service come with a counted place reservation for that service or is it a suggested connection?

yorkie2

Yes, you can do it. I used https://raileasy.trainsplit.com/ and clicked advanced options, and chose minimum interchange time 25mins.

VIRGIN TRAINS service to LONDON EUSTON
MANCHESTER PICCADILLY 11:35
LONDON EUSTON 13:43
Take the tube from LONDON EUSTON to LONDON VICTORIA
GATWICK EXPRESS service to BRIGHTON (EAST SUSSEX)
LONDON VICTORIA 15:00
GATWICK AIRPORT 15:30

pompeyrich wrote: »

having looked on NRE website an advance single from Manchester to Gatwick can be as little as £25.50. So another £17.80 + £2.40/£4.90 tube does seem "considerably more expensive".

I agree. Some people on MSE give poor advice; to avoid this in future I'd recommend anyone wanting advice uses a dedicated Fares, Ticketing & Routeing forum (google it!)

Kite2010 wrote: »

As for the point in question, does the GTR service come with a counted place reservation for that service or is it a suggested connection?

To expand on this, the rules of Advance tickets technically require "booked" trains to be used, which includes "counted place reservations".

The longer distance trains operated by GTR branded "Southern" may offer "counted place reservations", which means the time of the train will be printed on the ticket.

The GTR trains branded "Gatwick Express" do not offer "counted place reservations, so the time of those is never printed on the ticket, leaving you free to take any appropriate connecting service.

I do not believe the intention is that you should be tied to a specific train between London & Gatwick, nor do I believe any staff will attempt to enforce this.