Romsey - Exeter St Davids on 1/11/09

[Drsatan]

I wish to travel from Romsey to Exeter St Davids on Sunday 1 November. The outward journey seems simple enough (18:00 from Exeter St Davids on Friday 30, change at Westbury, arrive at Romsey at 20:35, with an advance fare of £8.60), however going back's more difficult.

I've thought about going via Bristol since the journey via Westbury involves a wait of nearly an hour at Westbury, which wouldn't be much fun since the station's a long walk from the town centre and the buffet would probably be closed. To go via Bristol, I'd get the 17:39 from Romsey to Bristol, arriving at 19:22; I'd change onto the 19:44 XC service to Exeter (ex Manchester Piccadilly) arriving at 20:47. However, going via Bristol would be £18.05, whereas going via Westbury would be only be about £10.

Of course, I could go via the WoE main line but there's a bus replacement service from Yeovil Junction to Exeter

So, a few questions:

Would the 19:44 off Bristol be an HST or a Voyager? If it's a Voyager I might not bother.
Would the 17:39 from Romsey be likely to arrive at Bristol late, so then I'd miss the connection? If so, would the ticket for the Bristol-Exeter leg be valid (I think it would be an advance ticket)
Given that the fare for the 20:44 departure would be £8.60, would it be worth waiting an hour at Bristol TM?

Thanks,

Tom

 

[devon_metro]

1944 is Voyager

 

[yorkie]

Would the 19:44 off Bristol be an HST or a Voyager? If it's a Voyager I might not bother.

It will be a rattling Vomiter sadly. The HSTs always (as far as I know) go to Neville Hill at night these days, so 19.44 from Bristol heading West is bound to be plastic. Sorry!

 

[Drsatan]

Ok I might consider going via Westbury despite the 45+ min wait there.

 

[John @ home]

The cheapest fares I can find for this journey with a railcard on Sunday 1 November are:

19:06 ROMSEY - BATH SPA 20:27; 20:41 BATH SPA - EXETER ST DAVIDS 22:22 £7.90

20:06 ROMSEY - WESTBURY 20:53; 21:36 WESTBURY - EXETER ST DAVIDS 22:51 £7.90

21:06 ROMSEY - SALISBURY 21:24; 21:54 SALISBURY - YEOVIL JUNCTION 22:40; 22:46 Bus YEOVIL JUNCTION - HONITON 00:06; 00:12 HONITON - EXETER ST DAVIDS 00:30 £4.15

These include FGW's 11% online discount and are available here.

To go via Bristol, I'd get the 17:39 from Romsey to Bristol, arriving at 19:22; I'd change onto the 19:44 XC service to Exeter (ex Manchester Piccadilly) arriving at 20:47. However, going via Bristol would be £18.05

The £18.05 fare may have gone. The FGW site is showing only the Anytime Single at a railcard price of £20.80 for this journey.

Would the 19:44 off Bristol be an HST or a Voyager? If it's a Voyager I might not bother.

Voyager.

Would the 17:39 from Romsey be likely to arrive at Bristol late, so then I'd miss the connection? If so, would the ticket for the Bristol-Exeter leg be valid (I think it would be an advance ticket)

You don't need to worry about that. The Terms & Conditions for Advance tickets, published on the National Rail web site, make it clear that you can catch the next train in these circumstances.

Conditions of use
If delays occur while travelling, you will be allowed to take the next available train(s) to complete your journey.
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/advance_conditions.html

Given that the fare for the 20:44 departure would be £8.60, would it be worth waiting an hour at Bristol TM?

20:44 from where? This train at this price is not appearing to me on the web site.

John

 

[Drsatan]

The cheapest fares I can find for this journey with a railcard on Sunday 1 November are:

19:06 ROMSEY - BATH SPA 20:27; 20:41 BATH SPA - EXETER ST DAVIDS 22:22 £7.90

20:06 ROMSEY - WESTBURY 20:53; 21:36 WESTBURY - EXETER ST DAVIDS 22:51 £7.90

21:06 ROMSEY - SALISBURY 21:24; 21:54 SALISBURY - YEOVIL JUNCTION 22:40; 22:46 Bus YEOVIL JUNCTION - HONITON 00:06; 00:12 HONITON - EXETER ST DAVIDS 00:30 £4.15

These include FGW's 11% online discount and are available here.The £18.05 fare may have gone. The FGW site is showing only the Anytime Single at a railcard price of £20.80 for this journey.Voyager.You don't need to worry about that. The Terms & Conditions for Advance tickets, published on the National Rail web site, make it clear that you can catch the next train in these circumatances.

20:44 from where? This train at this price is not appearing to me on the web site.

John[/QUOTE]

Thanks very much for your help! Just to clarify:

• The 20:44 is a XC service from Bristol to Exeter

• The £18.60 fare includes a £4.30 advance single on the 17:39 to Bristol and a single with railcard discount from Bristol TM to Exeter St Davids