Hello all.
I would be very grateful for your help!
I'm travelling to Leeds from Birmingham next Friday, returning on Sunday. I'm looking to meet a friend at Doncaster.
Would I need to buy separate tickets or can I simply by a through ticket?
Thanks and best wishes!
Seq.
A method that I would be confident in using 99% of the time so that you don't have to worry about the National Routeing Guide:
Does the route seem reasonable? Yes
Does the National Rail Enquiries website, or a train company's website give it as valid itineraries? Yes - I checked on East Coast using origin Birmingham, destination Leeds and via Doncaster.
This would satisfy me that Birmingham to Leeds is valid via Doncaster.
Next, to see if you can legitimately break your journey at Doncaster to meet your friend, as a general rule:
On an
Advance ticket - no (though using station facilities is not break of journey, just make sure you travel on your reserved trains)
On an
Anytime ticket - always allowed, within the validity of the ticket
On an
Off-Peak or
Super Off-Peak ticket, you will need to check the restriction code. You can use
www.brfares.com - just select the ticket from the list of options for your flow. Birmingham to Leeds carries restriction
2V which does not prohibit break of journey.
Therefore you can use a Birmingham to Leeds "walk-up" ticket to break your journey at Doncaster and resume it later, within the validity of the ticket.