Wymondham to Shenfield
Kiko4564
Forumite 217 Posts
I am intending on travelling from Wymondham to London using a Wymondham to Shenfield ticket. AFAIK there is no restricton prohibiting break of journey. Therefore I would like to ask if that is OK? I accept that I may have to pay a change of route excess if I go off route e.g. by using a Norwich to London Liverpool Street train which doesn't stop at Shenfield. However I am aware that these excesses are available on the train and it should be OK to board a train with the "ANY PERMITTED" route ticket.
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With a Cheap day return, or saver ticket, then a break of journey is permitted on the return leg, but not the outward; and if its an advance purchase ticket, then its only valid on the train shown on the ticket.
Wymondham - Cambridge - London Liverpool St
And the other will be this:
London Liverpool St - Shenfield - Colchester - Norwich - Wymondham
Or this:
London Liverpool St - Norwich - Wymondham
I'm aware that I'll of course have to pay the change of route excess if I get a train (on the way back) that does not call at Shenfield.
Off peak return Wymondham to Shenfield £46.20. Dep Wymondham 10.52 to Cambridge, dep Cambridge 12.04 to Liverpool Street, dep Liverpool Street 13.38, arrive Shenfield 14.02. Then dep Shenfield 14.43 to Chelmsford, dep Chelmsford 15.03 to Norwich, then dep Norwich 16.38 arrive Wymondham 16.49. These all on 15th June.
Not sure which type of ticket you are planning to purchase? Anytime or Off-Peak?
Assuming you're looking at the £46.20 Off-Peak Return:
So, there's no problem in breaking your journey in London. You can head back to Liverpool Street later on and complete your 'outward' journey to Shenfield later on the same day, then start your 'return' journey on the same train.
If you're travelling before 0900 on a weekday, or if you want to have an overnight break of journey in London (up to five days) you'd need the £77.70 Anytime Return.
I would suggest using a train that stops at Shenfield to avoid difficulty. If your train back from London didn't call at Shenfield, I don't see how you could argue that a ticket to/from Shenfield would be valid. You'd technically be changing your destination, not your route, so I don't think a change of route excess would be relevant here.
Slight point of order: 'Cheap Day Return' and 'Saver' fares haven't existed for many years now.
You're right about Advance fares, but Off-Peak Single and Off-Peak Return fares are more complicated. Generally, these do allow break of journey on both the outward and return legs unless otherwise stated; if it is not allowed, this will be detailed in the specific 'restriction code' that applies to that fare.
In all, there are three main ticket types and the rules boil down to:
* Restriction codes are always 2 digits (e.g. B4, 8A, G1, etc.) and can be found printed on the ticket itself or by selecting the relevant fare then viewing its T&Cs in the National Rail website's journey planner. You can find out what each code means by adding the relevant digits to the end of the www.nationalrail.co.uk/ web address. For example, to look up restriction code 1A, visit www.nationalrail.co.uk/1A
A passenger holding a ticket between Norwich and Shenfield routed "Any Permitted" who travels beyond Shenfield might reasonably be accused of travelling beyond their destination and treated accordingly.
A passenger holding a ticket between Norwich and Shenfield routed specifically via London who travels on a non-stop train is allowed to do so, however this may be treated with suspicion by staff who might realise that the routeing of the ticket is not intended for this purpose; they may inform their pricing department that the ticket should probably be routed via Cambridge and London (or, given the much better service via Stratford these days, they may even seek to restrict it further) as currently the fare allows a routeing that is not intended to be valid.
(In contrast, a Glasgow to Watford Junction ticket routed via London is intended for doubling-back between Euston and Watford; the rules do allow for this, but some pricing managers for other train companies may not realise this)
If a passenger holding the "Any Permitted" ticket argues they should not be treated as having travelled beyond their destination, because there is a mistake in the other routed ticket that allows them to double-back, is likely to get embroiled in a lengthy dispute and this will further increase the chances of the "loophole" being closed.
I strongly encourage you to not use this particular example and use a different scenario if you wish to test them.