Valid Scottish Grand Tour

[Xplora]

Hello, can the scottish grand tour pass be used on the LNER (London North eastern railway)? Direction Edinburgh to Inverness. Is it the same as the east scottish railway?
Other question, can only 50+ UK residents join the 50+club or use the traveltogether discount?

 

[jfollows]

No, per https://www.scotrail.co.uk/tickets/combined-tickets-travel-passes/scottish-grand-tour

• Valid on ScotRail services, for Standard Class off-peak travel

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tickets-railcards-offers/promotions/club-50-web-scot-rail/ says

Details​

• Club 50 membership is available to anyone aged 50 or over.
• Club 50 members can show their Club 50 registration confirmation email, Club 50 membership confirmation email, temporary Club 50 card or Club 50 Smartcard to purchase discounted tickets at stations or on-train and when travelling to validate their discounted ticket.
• Club 50 members MUST carry their Club 50 registration confirmation email, Club 50 membership confirmation email, temporary Club 50 card or Club 50 Smartcard with them .
• Club 50 members will also be required to carry proof of age with them when travelling to validate their ticket.
• Acceptable forms of ID are - UK or EU Driving License photocard, Passport (any Nationality) and UK Senior Citizen bus pass.

so not limited to UK residents/nationals.

 

[Xplora]

That's a pity if the scottish grand tour pass cannot be used on that particulier part railway. And the spirit of Scotland pass? Can that one be used Mline?

 

[jfollows]

That's a pity if the scottish grand tour pass cannot be used on that particulier part railway. And the spirit of Scotland pass? Can that one be used Mline?

Spirit of Scotland pass can be used on LNER.
See https://www.scotrail.co.uk/tickets/combined-tickets-travel-passes/spirit-of-scotland

• Train travel in Scotland – and journeys to and from Carlisle and Berwick-upon-Tweed with ScotRail, Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, LNER, and First TransPennine Express. On some lines you won't be able to travel at peak times

 

[Watershed]

That's a pity if the scottish grand tour pass cannot be used on that particulier part railway. And the spirit of Scotland pass? Can that one be used Mline?

You can still travel along that route: LNER only run 1 train a day, whilst ScotRail run 5 trains a day. There are also many additional alternatives using ScotRail if you change trains, for example at Stirling or Perth.

The Spirit of Scotland BritRail pass is valid on all operators within Scotland; see this map - it covers all routes in Scotland, plus the routes from Carlisle and Berwick towards Scotland. The only exception is Caledonian Sleeper, who you're unlikely to want to use.

 

[100andthirty]

Is it me or is there a strange omission in the grand tour ticket? It's billed as a circular tour, includes the trains and the coach from Isle of Skye to Kyle of Lochalsh, but the fetty from Mallaig to the island is omitted. Given both Scotrail and CalMac are goverment owned, it seems a bit petty.

 

[Watershed]

Is it me or is there a strange omission in the grand tour ticket? It's billed as a circular tour, includes the trains and the coach from Isle of Skye to Kyle of Lochalsh, but the fetty from Mallaig to the island is omitted. Given both Scotrail and CalMac are goverment owned, it seems a bit petty.

CalMac ferries used to be included AFAIK, but were dropped when they switched to a new reservations system because integration for tickets such as these was put in the "too hard" pile! You really couldn't make it up...

 

[Xplora]

I am aware of the ferry is not included anymore. The problem is getting from Edinburgh to Inverness on friday. I was planned take the train 16.30 and use The grand tour pass. I thought i could use the also the Lner because it is the same railway. Very confusing if Spirit of scotland can be used and Grand tour not.

 

[jfollows]

I am aware of the ferry is not included anymore. The problem is getting from Edinburgh to Inverness on friday. I was planned take the train 16.30 and use The grand tour pass. I thought i could use the also the Lner because it is the same railway. Very confusing if Spirit of scotland can be used and Grand tour not.

Yes, it’s a bad system because it is fragmented and has evolved over time, especially since privatisation.

Fortunately, as I think you’ve discovered, there are people here - especially @Watershed - who understand the system and can give you good advice.

 

[Watershed]

I am aware of the ferry is not included anymore. The problem is getting from Edinburgh to Inverness on friday. I was planned take the train 16.30 and use The grand tour pass. I thought i could use the also the Lner because it is the same railway. Very confusing if Spirit of scotland can be used and Grand tour not.

Each ticket has its own set of conditions. Inconsistent and unhelpful rules are common across the rail industry in Britain, I'm afraid!

Operator-specific ticketing isn't unique to Britain, though - I'm sure you will be familiar with the situation in NL where you have to touch out and back in at separate card readers, to change between NS and Arriva.

If you want a direct ScotRail train to Inverness, there are alternatives at 13:32 or 17:33. If you're prepared to change trains, you can leave at 14:41 and change at Perth to arrive in Inverness at 18:26.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

CalMac ferries used to be included AFAIK, but were dropped when they switched to a new reservations system because integration for tickets such as these was put in the "too hard" pile! You really couldn't make it up...

If that is the case, then they should have dropped the bus link to Skye too!

Citylink says reservations recommended. Anecdotal online commentary suggests that the 3 coaches per day are often oversubscribed in the main season.

Yet there is no way to make a reservation on Citylink to use these tickets. It's just pot luck.

When I enquired about it they just said the only way to make a reservation was to go to the bus station in Edinburgh or Glasgow. If you couldn't do that then the only way to guarantee a seat was to buy a full price ticket on the Citylink website. Failure to do so meant you risked being stranded. Madness.

 

[Xplora]

Elk ticket heeft zijn eigen set voorwaarden. Inconsistente en nutteloze regels zijn gebruikelijk in de spoorwegindustrie in Groot-Brittannië, vrees ik!

Toch is het niet zo dat Britse reizigers specifieke kaartjes kopen bij verschillende vervoerders. Ik weet zeker dat u bekend bent met de situatie in Nederland, waar u bij aparte kaartlezers moet uit- en weer inchecken om over te stappen tussen NS en Arriva.

Als u een directe ScotRail-trein naar Inverness wilt, zijn er alternatieven om 13:32 of 17:33. Als u bereid bent om over te stappen, kunt u om 14:41 vertrekken en overstappen in Perth om om 18:26 in Inverness aan te komen.

If i could do so, i would but i depend on my flightarrival time..

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Mar 2025 ==

Als dat zo is, dan hadden ze de busverbinding naar Skye ook moeten schrappen!

Citylink zegt dat reserveren aanbevolen is. Anekdotisch online commentaar suggereert dat de 3 coaches per dag in het hoogseizoen vaak overtekend zijn.

Maar er is geen manier om een reservering te maken op Citylink om deze tickets te gebruiken. Het is gewoon potluck.

Toen ik ernaar vroeg, zeiden ze alleen dat de enige manier om een reservering te maken was om naar het busstation in Edinburgh of Glasgow te gaan. Als je dat niet kon, was de enige manier om een zitplaats te garanderen om een ticket voor de volle prijs te kopen op de Citylink-website. Als je dat niet deed, liep je het risico gestrand te raken. Waanzin.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Mar 2025 ==

Yes, be well informed oterwise you will be disappointed

 

[Watershed]

If i could do so, i would but i depend on my flightarrival time..

LNER don't operate the first or last train of the day for this route, so the worst case scenario is that you simply have to wait a while until there's a journey that uses ScotRail.