Wareham to Haywards Heath poor NR Journey Panner Response

[packermac]

I checked the above journey for the Bluebell Gala in October and NR Journey Planner gives £18 return with senior railcard which seems cracking deal. SWR seem to be on diversion via Portsmouth Line
Checked for tomorrow as day is suddenly free for me and it is £42.75 by via Clapham Junction.
Check via SWR site and the £18 fare exists as a via Barnham fare.
How is a passenger suppose to know to enter via Barnham as a via station?
This is a mammoth price difference and ironic as if you get the 0651 from Wareham (0648 on diversion day) you get the same train at Three Bridges as you would at Clapham Junction and arrive at 1021.
Is this common across many journeys with the NR journey planner? If I enter via Barnham I get the famous set of buffers and the Oh no! There's been a problem! message.

 

[JonathanH]

How is a passenger suppose to know to enter via Barnham as a via station?

Barnham is used as the via point for the tickets but you could equally ask to go via Chichester, which is a bit better known (but the wrong side of Bognor Regis), and get the same result - the basic point is that the cheapest fare is along the South Coast - choose a suitable station to force the journey planner to give you a route that way.

 

[30907]

According to NRE, for tomorrow you reach HHE at xx01 via CLJ, which is presumably why only the fastest trains show up.

 

[Joe Paxton]

I checked the above journey for the Bluebell Gala in October and NR Journey Planner gives £18 return with senior railcard which seems cracking deal. SWR seem to be on diversion via Portsmouth Line
Checked for tomorrow as day is suddenly free for me and it is £42.75 by via Clapham Junction.
Check via SWR site and the £18 fare exists as a via Barnham fare.
...
This is a mammoth price difference and ironic as if you get the 0651 from Wareham (0648 on diversion day) you get the same train at Three Bridges as you would at Clapham Junction and arrive at 1021.

Not so - as 30907 points out above.

On a normal Saturday with no diversions (e.g. tomorrow Sat 21 Sept, or Sat 19 Oct), the 0653 from Wareham (which from 5 Oct leaves at 0648 - I assume for leaf fall season) arrives at Clapham Jn at 0912, enabling a connecting onto the 0923 to Haywards Heath arriving there at 1001. (There is no 0651 from Wareham!)

As the quickest journey this is what a journey planner will show by default.

 

[kieron]

How is a passenger suppose to know to enter via Barnham as a via station?

You don't get a list on the NR site. What you do get is a small "Other cheap fares" link at the top of the screen which takes you to the Cheapest Fare Finder. This will show you the "via Barnham" fare for this journey, as that's the cheapest fare.

 

[30907]

You don't get a list on the NR site. What you do get is a small "Other cheap fares" link at the top of the screen which takes you to the Cheapest Fare Finder. This will show you the "via Barnham" fare for this journey, as that's the cheapest fare.

But certainly for travel today it doesn't do so.