York - Leeds discussion
Im 95% sure its not a permitted route from York to Leeds
For a York to Leeds ticket? It is; map TO allows any route between York & Leeds that does not pass through another Routeing Point (RP). There are no RPs on the Harrogate line.
so therefore not to Huddusfield either,
Hang on! The routeing guide does not work like that!
that may be one of the reasons they dont have it advertised as a through train.
It isn't. It's because it takes over 1 hour 10 mins and I doubt this is ever the quickest journey. King's Cross to Cambridge via Potters Bar etc are advertised to Foxton, and Oxford to Paddington via all shacks are advertised to Ealing Broadway.
From Leeds its advertised destination is Poppleton and from York its Burley Park.
True but this has no meaning in routeing terms, it is advertised as a through train in the NRT meaning it is valid on a York to Leeds ticket.
If you buy a York - Leeds ticket, it is always valid via Harrogate as the train is advertised in the timetable as a direct train (direct trains always valid, even if it takes a longer route).
True
The reason it shows up as either Poppleton or Burley Park on departure boards is to lessen confusion with passengers who don't know it takes longer to get to Leeds/York instead of going via Garforth.
I agree.
York - Huddersfield discussion
However I'm not quite sure if a season ticket would be valid this way to Huddersfield. I'm guessing it might well be, however someone else who has a better understanding of the routing guide and season tickets will have to answer that question!
I believe it is valid.
York (YRK) -Huddersfield (HUD) allows map TP (+ direct trains + the shortest route(s)) only, but this does not show any location between York & Leeds, therefore as there is no RP between York & Leeds via Harrogate, it has to be valid that way.
However my suggestion is to buy a
Cattal (CTL) to
Marsden (MSN). This is the same price as York to Huddersfield, and is unquestionably valid on the Harrogate line (even by the most desperate and rule-inventing of guards
). If the OP ever wants to go to Manchester, he can do so for only £7.90 day return (passing through Marsden non-stop at any time after 0930) or £9.40 day return (if passing through Marsden earlier than that).
Also don't buy a season for only 1 month, extend it for however many days are useful, as required.
For example someone who is on annual leave 20 Dec - 01 Jan inclusive, wanting a season starting next Monday would buy:
Cattal - Marsden Season (01 Month 03 days) £247.50 from 15/11/10 to 17/12/10 (inclusive)
and
A further season ticket from 01 January for a period of at least 5 weeks. (Yes, I did say on annual leave until 01 January, but is cheaper to buy the ticket to start on 01 January this year as the fares will go up massively on 02 January thanks to Government anti-rail policy)
If the OP doesn't mind having potential 'disagreements' with guards and barrier staff over routeing, a ticket to
Halifax is cheaper, at £205.90 for one calendar month, this is valid via Huddersfield on map LY. I would strongly advise printing this map (
http://www.atoc.org/clientfiles/File/RSPDocuments/maps.pdf - page 66) and producing this map if a guard falsely claims it is invalid or queries it. (And do let us know if this happens, including what they say, how they approach it etc, if they just query it politely I have no problem with this, but if they claim it is invalid without checking, report it here).
The vast majority of TPE guards (in my experience and that of others I know of) are good though so probably won't have many problems on the train. However some of the barrier staff are not so good (I wonder if the Man Vic sandwich thrower who also turned up at EDB when off work sick is still working on the barrier at Hudds station) some of the barrier staff at HUD can be (or were - this was a while ago) rude & I doubt they are knowledgeable.
I would buy the ticket to/from Cattal to avoid potential disagreements. There are a small number of guards on the Harrogate line who have queried tickets that are valid between York & Leeds being valid that way, although when they checked with Control they were correctly informed it is valid, according to my sources. So if these guards are encountered they should hopefully remember that!
Most guards are sound, it's some barrier staff you need to be more weary of.
