Advice on Advance ticket restrictions

[Centralsimon]

This weekend I need to travel from East Croydon to Peterborough. Plus I am sure we are aware that the line from King's Cross is closed so will need to travel via Bedford and bus.

However LNER are offering advance fares with restriction code GD for the journey

GD states on specific LNER train and connections

So the question, is the LNER specific part of the advance only on the replacement bus and I can catch any Thameslink from East Croydon to Bedford, and I will need to wait for a specific timed bus from Bedford or would the restriction apply for the entire journey?

My opinion is the only LNER portion of the journey will be the bus and I can use any train from ECR but the railway isn't always customer focused when it comes to ticketing.

Thanks in advance

 

[Watershed]

This weekend I need to travel from East Croydon to Peterborough. Plus I am sure we are aware that the line from King's Cross is closed so will need to travel via Bedford and bus.

However LNER are offering advance fares with restriction code GD for the journey

GD states on specific LNER train and connections

So the question, is the LNER specific part of the advance only on the replacement bus and I can catch any Thameslink from East Croydon to Bedford, and I will need to wait for a specific timed bus from Bedford or would the restriction apply for the entire journey?

My opinion is the only LNER portion of the journey will be the bus and I can use any train from ECR but the railway isn't always customer focused when it comes to ticketing.

Thanks in advance

This is a bit of an unusual situation, in that you can buy an LNER & Connections Advance without actually having a reservation for an LNER service. The rail replacement bus is non-reservable (both literally and in terms of the industry data) so it'll only be the East Croydon to Bedford train that you have a reservation for.

Based on the normal Advance ticket conditions, you would have to take that train, as it would be printed on your ticket. You would not be tied to the specific LNER rail replacement bus you selected, since that would not be shown on your ticket - and in practical terms, even if it were, I cannot see any bus driver or rail replacement coordinator caring about which exact time bus you are on (if the buses even run to the advertised timetable).

However, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR - the legal name for the entity that operates Thameslink) have an 'easement' to the above conditions. They allow you to take any of their trains when travelling on an Advance that also involves another train company. That means that you aren't actually tied to the specific Thameslink train you selected when booking.

So this is a rare case of an Advance ticket where you're not actually tied to any particular train at all. That said, I wouldn't try to take the 'mickey' - I would still try to travel roughly around the time of your booked train.

 

[DesDobramento]

This is a bit of an unusual situation, in that you can buy an LNER & Connections Advance without actually having a reservation for an LNER service. The rail replacement bus is non-reservable (both literally and in terms of the industry data) so it'll only be the East Croydon to Bedford train that you have a reservation for.

Based on the normal Advance ticket conditions, you would have to take that train, as it would be printed on your ticket. You would not be tied to the specific LNER rail replacement bus you selected, since that would not be shown on your ticket - and in practical terms, even if it were, I cannot see any bus driver or rail replacement coordinator caring about which exact time bus you are on (if the buses even run to the advertised timetable).

However, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR - the legal name for the entity that operates Thameslink) have an 'easement' to the above conditions. They allow you to take any of their trains when travelling on an Advance that also involves another train company. That means that you aren't actually tied to the specific Thameslink train you selected when booking.

So this is a rare case of an Advance ticket where you're not actually tied to any particular train at all. That said, I wouldn't try to take the 'mickey' - I would still try to travel roughly around the time of your booked train.

Does Southeastern have a similar easement when continuing onto LNER services?

 

[Watershed]

Does Southeastern have a similar easement when continuing onto LNER services?

No, GTR are more or less unique in having that Advance 'easement'.