Anyone know if this applies to Virgin West Coast too? Can't seem to find anything on their website. I usually aim for a peak time service departure from London (I'm travelling Friday afternoon 23/12) as they are a lot less busy as my North Wales - London Off Peak Return allows travel during peak time apart from one particular departure. If the restrictions are lifted I may as well get on the first available train.
See
VTWC off-peak restriction relaxation at Christmas?
And again, the same principle applies. If you buy a ticket with reservation and itinerary for a particular train, that is evidence of a contract, so you can simply trust the booking engines (even if they make a mistake; a mistake would be an internal rail industry matter and not a problem for the customers).
I do not think the relaxations at this time of year are a mistake, but the point is that you don't need to worry about whether mistakes have been made or not, if you book the ticket and travel in accordance with the itinerary.
Without wishing to go off-topic, two forum members recently travelled on this itinerary in 1st class for a bargain fare:
...What's the itinerary you ask (or, to be more accurate, may be thinking in your head)? It's this:
07:21 Hampton-in-Arden to Birmingham New Street 07:36
07:49 Birmingham New Street to Nottingham 09:06
09:34 Nottingham to Grantham 10:06
10:21 Grantham to York 11:30
11:54 York to Haymarket 14:31
14:57 Haymarket to Sandwell and Dudley 18:54
No kidding! How much? It came up to £5.77 each ....
I saw them at York. One of the Guards had queried the itinerary and it was reported for investigation so that the error could be fixed, but the customers' tickets were endorsed for travel in case any other staff queried it. But none did.
The general principle remains the same: you book a ticket with an itinerary and you follow that itinerary and that should absolutely be honoured as valid, regardless of whether or not it is a mistake.
