corinthian
Member
- Joined
- 23 Feb 2009
- Messages
- 5
I regularly travel between Queen's Park (QPW) and Kingham (KGM), generally aiming to catch a weekday 0822 service from London Paddington (PAD), returning in the afternoon on some subsequent weekday.
When I enter a journey commencing at Paddington in National Rail's or First Great Western's (FGW) website, I am told that Off-Peak Returns are not valid on the 0822 service. However, I noticed the other day that on the departure board at Paddington there is a notice saying that these tickets are valid for "stations beyond Oxford", i.e. including Kingham and this was confirmed to me by a ticket inspector.
Therefore, I have started buying an Off-Peak return from Paddington to Kingham for £28.50 and have used an Oyster card to get to and from Paddington, generally on the tube for which I pay £2.20 outbound and £1.60 return. I could take the 36 bus for £1 each way.
I notice that an Off-Peak return from Queen's Park to Kingham is £31.00. My first question is, if I buy this ticket, would it be valid for travel on the tube at a time that would enable me to catch the 0822 from Paddington? In other words, does the notion of off-peak validity affect tube travel at all?
Also, I have a Network Railcard, which of course is not valid on the 0822 service. I have tried experimenting with various split ticketing options and also with the idea of buying a Cotswold Line Railcard but have not found a cheaper way of travelling than Oyster on the 36 bus plus an Off-Peak return from Paddington to Kingham. Would this change if I needed to catch the 0700 service from Paddington to Kingham (or is the Off-Peak return valid on that also)? Sometimes I might travel later in the day than on the 0822 so do my options increase with use of the Network Railcard? e.g the 0921 from PAD arrives Reading at 0953 and Oxford at 1026 - any ideas where I might best split? It is dispiriting to think the timetable is only valid for about the next couple of months - I might have to go through all this again!
Finally, to whom should I complain about the false information being given by the National Rail and FGW websites? And do you think I can ask for a refund for past journeys where I just bought my tickets at a self-service machine in reliance on this false information?
Apologies for such a long first post and for asking so many detailed questions.
When I enter a journey commencing at Paddington in National Rail's or First Great Western's (FGW) website, I am told that Off-Peak Returns are not valid on the 0822 service. However, I noticed the other day that on the departure board at Paddington there is a notice saying that these tickets are valid for "stations beyond Oxford", i.e. including Kingham and this was confirmed to me by a ticket inspector.
Therefore, I have started buying an Off-Peak return from Paddington to Kingham for £28.50 and have used an Oyster card to get to and from Paddington, generally on the tube for which I pay £2.20 outbound and £1.60 return. I could take the 36 bus for £1 each way.
I notice that an Off-Peak return from Queen's Park to Kingham is £31.00. My first question is, if I buy this ticket, would it be valid for travel on the tube at a time that would enable me to catch the 0822 from Paddington? In other words, does the notion of off-peak validity affect tube travel at all?
Also, I have a Network Railcard, which of course is not valid on the 0822 service. I have tried experimenting with various split ticketing options and also with the idea of buying a Cotswold Line Railcard but have not found a cheaper way of travelling than Oyster on the 36 bus plus an Off-Peak return from Paddington to Kingham. Would this change if I needed to catch the 0700 service from Paddington to Kingham (or is the Off-Peak return valid on that also)? Sometimes I might travel later in the day than on the 0822 so do my options increase with use of the Network Railcard? e.g the 0921 from PAD arrives Reading at 0953 and Oxford at 1026 - any ideas where I might best split? It is dispiriting to think the timetable is only valid for about the next couple of months - I might have to go through all this again!
Finally, to whom should I complain about the false information being given by the National Rail and FGW websites? And do you think I can ask for a refund for past journeys where I just bought my tickets at a self-service machine in reliance on this false information?
Apologies for such a long first post and for asking so many detailed questions.
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