Leagrave to Gatwick Airport

[mono1989]

Evening All

I have 6 adults traveling from Leagrave to Gatwick Airport on the 27th July at around 0500 one way.

I have tried to search for anything cheaper than the SDS to no avail.

Could anyone suggest anything better?

 

[gazthomas]

Evening All

I have 6 adults traveling from Leagrave to Gatwick Airport on the 27th July at around 0500 one way.

I have tried to search for anything cheaper than the SDS to no avail.

Could anyone suggest anything better?

I would get a minibus taxi

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Just how early are you willing to travel?! Basically, the earlier you travel the cheaper it is.

If you can take the 03:30 through train then, as far as I can tell, you could get a GroupSave-discounted (which saves you 34%) Off-Peak Day Single ticket. The Thameslink website will not sell it you with an itinerary for that train, however from reading the text of the restriction code it is valid as you are departing before 04:30. You would simply select a later service, such as the 09:22, when booking - and then throw away any reservations (not that Thameslink is reserve-able anyway). That would cost just £105.90 for all 6 of you.

If you would prefer to take the 04:33 service or later then you can't use GroupSave, instead splits at St Albans City and East Croydon will save you £21, bringing the total down to £157.80 for all 6 of you.

In all honesty, if you can book a taxi in advance at a good rate - or even get a coach of some kind - this may be cheaper (and more reliable, if you have a flight to catch!).

 

[Hadders]

Given the current shambles on Thameslink you need to allow for a cancellation or three in your planning.

In all honesty a minibus taxi is probably a better option.

 

[Haywain]

You will undoubtedly get some sort of 6-seater in Luton that will get you to Gatwick for rather less than the cost of the train. Even as someone who advocates using the train, I wouldn't on this occasion.

 

[AlterEgo]

You will undoubtedly get some sort of 6-seater in Luton that will get you to Gatwick for rather less than the cost of the train. Even as someone who advocates using the train, I wouldn't on this occasion.

Agreed - I would book a 6 seater. Job done.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

The C4 restriction data on the Off-peak Day Single unfortunately denies an arrival at Gatwick at that time. From BR Fares:
"Not valid to arrive GATWICK AIRPORT 0430–0917 on any TOC"

Given that the restriction summary is "VALID BY TRAINS DUE IN LDN AT/AFTER 1000 M-F", this seems to be here to stop its use from the south coming towards London, but naturally works for all arrivals.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

The C4 restriction data on the Off-peak Day Single unfortunately denies an arrival at Gatwick at that time. From BR Fares:
"Not valid to arrive GATWICK AIRPORT 0430–0917 on any TOC"

Given that the restriction summary is "VALID BY TRAINS DUE IN LDN AT/AFTER 1000 M-F", this seems to be here to stop its use from the south coming towards London, but naturally works for all arrivals.

The electronic restriction data has no contractual significance - it is merely a (poor) attempt to get the "dumb" computer system not to offer C4-restricted tickets in conjunction with trains which are likely to fall foul of the actual validity (otherwise you would have to have a different restriction code for each station, which is unworkable with a two-character system).

For the contractual validity you must refer to nationalrail.co.uk/C4 (this link being helpfully printed on new-style tickets) - which states that such tickets are:

Not valid on trains timed to depart after 04:29 which arrive at London Terminals or Kensington Olympia before 10:00.

So, since the 03:30 LEA-GTW service does not depart after 04:29, the second part of the restriction is immaterial, and hence it is permitted to use a C4-restricted Off-Peak Day Single on it.

 

[mmh]

As an aside, I don't recommend people use brfares.com to look up restriction codes, some of them are incorrect, out of date or the order of text is misleading. I believe I read on this forum they're aware and are planning to update their feed/data/whatever in the near future, but as @ForTheLoveOf says nationalrail.co.uk/"CODE" is the definitive source of truth.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

I didn't put it very well - but I was trying to explain why the Thameslink site and others won't offer the fare in case anyone was uncertain. In this case, yesterday's C4 restriction data has the same arrival times at Gatwick as brfares.com. The gap between the human-readable, contractual text and what happens behind the scenes is concerning.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I didn't put it very well - but I was trying to explain why the Thameslink site and others won't offer the fare in case anyone was uncertain. In this case, yesterday's C4 restriction data has the same arrival times at Gatwick as brfares.com. The gap between the human-readable, contractual text and what happens behind the scenes is concerning.

It's concerning - but absolutely not unprecedented! See, for example, the recent thread about the P7 restriction, or the fact that the data for the BT restriction includes most of CI's and CJ's data too, even though this is nowhere to be found in the text of BT!

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

It's concerning - but absolutely not unprecedented! See, for example, the recent thread about the P7 restriction, or the fact that the data for the BT restriction includes most of CI's and CJ's data too, even though this is nowhere to be found in the text of BT!

Some of this is understandable, I suppose, http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/BT says "If travel is to/from or via Luton, Luton Airport Parkway or London restriction codes CI & CJ also apply" but there are many examples, I agree, from the beginning of time where the link isn't easy to understand (see also route codes where locations to visit/avoid are unlike the text). We accept (and sometimes question) that the end result, given the rail network and the timetable, is the same. Who knows whether the proposed simplification will come down to this level, or whether fewer fares means more complex restrictions?

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Some of this is understandable, I suppose, http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/BT says "If travel is to/from or via Luton, Luton Airport Parkway or London restriction codes CI & CJ also apply" but there are many examples, I agree, from the beginning of time where the link isn't easy to understand (see also route codes where locations to visit/avoid are unlike the text). We accept (and sometimes question) that the end result, given the rail network and the timetable, is the same. Who knows whether the proposed simplification will come down to this level, or whether fewer fares means more complex restrictions?

If the TOCs' hopes of the abolition of fares regulation happen - you can be sure it will not benefit the passenger!