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Advance Purchase Tickets For Manchester to Cardiff

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Traineeconductor

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I have recently purchased a ticket from Manchester to Cardiff and travelling with ATW. Now I wondered if they get a little stroppy if you get the wrong timed train with your ticket like??

Can anyone assist with this as I am having a little wonder maybe?
 
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John @ home

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Traineeconductor said:
I have recently purchased a ticket from Manchester to Cardiff and travelling with ATW. Now I wondered if they get a little stroppy if you get the wrong timed train with your ticket like??

Can anyone assist with this as I am having a little wonder maybe?
Click to expand...
If your ticket is an Advance ticket, then as with any Advance ticket, expect to have to pay the walk-on Single fare with no Railcard discount if you choose to travel on a train other than the one printed on your ticket or seat reservation. In this instance, the Standard Day Single from Manchester to Cardiff is £51.40. If you have to travel on another train due to a delay caused by the railway industry, you should be allowed to travel on the next available train.

If your ticket is not an Advance ticket, but is a flexible ticket such as an Off Peak Return, you are free on this route to travel on any service on the date(s) shown on the ticket.

John
 
Ticket Man

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i'd approach with caution on this one. advance tickets are booked train only, if you go early, you might just get away with paying an excess, if you miss your train and the guards having a bad day, he'll knock you for a new ticket.
 
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John @ home

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MCR247 said:
I'm assuming its advance going by the title ;)
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Very probably, but I thought it was wise to cover both options. People can, and do, buy flexible tickets in advance and not everyone knows that not every ticket bought in advance is an Advance ticket.

Cheers,
John
 
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They are probably undesperate on this route. It's the former InterCity routes where AP fares are enforced rigourously. However even if many guards are undesperate, there is always the possibility of being asked to pay the full fare.
 
T

Traineeconductor

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Well i assumed it to be all the long distance tocs was very strict on it, but the local and TPE tocs wasn't really that botherd about you getting a timed train.
 
S

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Traineeconductor said:
Well i assumed it to be all the long distance tocs was very strict on it, but the local and TPE tocs wasn't really that botherd about you getting a timed train.
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I wouldn't be too sure. Our instructions at TPE are to rigorously enforce the Advance ticket rules. Now I know some of my colleagues do not (and I am aware that the company is traying to clamp down on it!), but many of us - myself included - do. So if you get on my train with the wrong ticket then you can expect the following : a) travelling over an hour before the time booked on your ticket = brand new ticket; b) travelling within an hour of booked time = pay the XS fare; c) travel on any train after your booked time = brand new ticket.

The only exception to this, is those which have say a Leeds to Cardiff, or Leeds to Edinburgh Advance where we will allow people to travel earlier without penalty due to stupidly short connection time allowed at Manchester (about 12 mins from memory) or York.

It always works in your favour though if you ask the Guard first as you can then have an answer before you get on the train, and most Guards - myself included - always look kindly on those that ask first - it shows they have made an effort and thought about things rather than just hoping to blag it.
 
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TEW

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I don't see how it is desperate to enforce AP rules, the idea of them is that you must travel on the specified train and failure to do so should end with you paying the full fare for your journey, doing that isn't "desperate", it is the rules.
 
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philjo

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What day are you travelling?

If you look at table 131, there are quite a number of trains on that route without the white diamond at the top of the column indicating that reservations are available on that service.
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse documents/eNRT/May09/timetables/Table131.pdf
It is mainly Saturdays where nearly all trains can be reserved & some of the faster trains on weekdays plus evening services.

When I travelled on this route on a Sunday from Newport to Church Stretton, the service I used could not be reserved (I had tried to make a reservation), so all seats were unreserved.

I assume that as they had sold an an advanced ticket it would be on one of the reservable services.
 
krus_aragon

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philjo said:
If you look at table 131, there are quite a number of trains on that route without the white diamond at the top of the column indicating that reservations are available on that service.
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Those that don't have the white diamond (reservations available) have the 'R' in black square (reservations recommended) instead, except for a few short early/late trains. You can't avoid reservable trains if you want to get all the way to Cardiff.
 
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I don't know about 175s but 170s, for example, have sockets in the vestibules. Mk3s also have 1 socket per coach at one of the luggage racks. Some people think you are crazy for using them as they may damage your laptop or whatever but I, and others, have used them many, many times without any issues at all. The Mk3s are best used to charge laptops & phones in luggage in front of the socket ;)
 
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rww100

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Traineeconductor said:
Thts a **** init? I mean 4 hours on that thing and you can't have a bit of enntertainment.
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Well in terms of entertainment, the first few rows of seats at the inside end of coach A are fitted with headphone sockets connected to a CD-Multichanger system like the type of thing found on Pendolinos and Voyagers. I'm not sure if these are still in use though, but they used to be good for the longer journeys.
 
krus_aragon

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rww100 said:
Well in terms of entertainment, the first few rows of seats at the inside end of coach A are fitted with headphone sockets connected to a CD-Multichanger system like the type of thing found on Pendolinos and Voyagers. I'm not sure if these are still in use though, but they used to be good for the longer journeys.
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Nothing in the vestibules on a 175. There's one plug socket in Coach C (opposite the cycle spaces) where refreshment trolleys were meant to be stored, presumably for plugging in a kettle or similar. It's on or near the bottom of a wall-mounted box: hardly a convenient location. I also seem to recall it's a non-standard round-pin socket.

yorkie said:
I don't know about 175s but 170s, for example, have sockets in the vestibules. Mk3s also have 1 socket per coach at one of the luggage racks. Some people think you are crazy for using them as they may damage your laptop or whatever but I, and others, have used them many, many times without any issues at all. The Mk3s are best used to charge laptops & phones in luggage in front of the socket ;)
Click to expand...

175s weren't built with them, neither were their contemporary 180s, but I think some of those have had them refitted. Arriva's Mk2 stock on the WAG Express doesn't have any, but on the basis of what Yorkie says above maybe the first class accommodation in the Mk3 RFM coach is the only place you'll find a socket on an ATW service!
 
T

Traineeconductor

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Shame i prefer using my laptop to looking outta window lol. but if there is no plugs then ill after use it untill it dies and tough lol
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Also what about the XC 170s Do they have Plugs too?
 
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northwichcat

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Traineeconductor said:
Thts a **** init? I mean 4 hours on that thing and you can't have a bit of enntertainment.
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The 175s were designed for First North Western's North West and North Wales services, not services as long as Manchester-Milford Haven or Holyhead-Cardiff. So Arriva needed to look st improving facilities for longer services. It looks like someone at ATW decided 175s are better than 158s so go on the longer routes without any modifications.
 
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