Ashford International to Exeter - fare options

[Ritchie333]

Hello. Long time lurker and first time poster. (I created SABRE Maps which has extensive coverage of current and former railways in the UK and Ireland).

I'm travelling from Ashford International to Exeter on Saturday. I'm fortunate enough to have a Rail Staff Leisure Card (as a spouse), which means I can generally just book the tickets just before I travel at an affordable flat fare. However, I believe a consequence is you have to be absolutely 100% sure that your ticket is appropriate for this journey.

What I really want to do is travel to Exeter via Paddington and Taunton on the way out, but via Honiton and Waterloo on the way back. While most people do a return from London to Exeter using whatever the fast option is, I can see reasonable instances where you might want to break the return journey at Salisbury, for example, which would cause this problem. (In my case, I haven't done the West of England line in 35 years and want to refresh my memory). There's no such thing as an "any permitted" ticket from London to Exeter, unlike most other parts of the country, just "via Taunton" or "via Honiton", which is a relic of the British Rail timetables. The received wisdom I've got is it's perfectly okay to buy a day return "via Taunton" (which in my case is £32.85 on privs) and travel via Honiton, as the effective excess fare is zero; however I believe not all guards recognise this and might flag it up as a travel irregularity, which is the last thing I want.

The alternative is to buy a return to London and two singles, which as the return is only slightly more than the single, is effectively paying almost twice as much.

Has anyone got more experience with this trip, and exactly what the chapter and verse is on it?

 

[Benjwri]

It should be fine to travel via Honition on a via Taunton ticket, for the reason you explain. This is according to NRCoT 9.5.2:

Where you [...] are using a route for which your ticket is not valid [...] you will be charged the difference between the fare that you have paid and the lowest price ticket that is valid for the train you are using.

The only option that is available to staff is to charge you this, which as you mention is zero. If the staff to take issue this is all they can do, and as a zero fare excess is a bit of bother to issue they usually just don't bother. There is practically no risk of them attempting anything else, and if they did it should be dropped at any sort of appeal. I would say the chance of it even being raised is low, if you are worried perhaps have a copy of the NRCoT open, which for me has always settled any issues.

 

[Haywain]

however I believe not all guards recognise this and might flag it up as a travel irregularity, which is the last thing I want.

I think that the chances of this happening on that route are vanishingly small. No-one queried it when I did it a couple of years ago.

 

[dmncf]

Can one buy a return ticket from Ashford International to a different station where it might be legitimate to take either route, e.g. to Exeter Central or to Pinhoe? Or does this not get around the issue of having to choose "via Taunton" or "via Honiton"?

 

[Benjwri]

Can one buy a return ticket from Ashford International to a different station where it might be legitimate to take either route, e.g. to Exeter Central or to Pinhoe? Or does this not get around the issue of having to choose "via Taunton" or "via Honiton"?

This is a good point, while Exeter Central has the same issue with the two routes, and Pinhole loses the Maltese Cross, if the OP get a ticket from Starcross it is priced the same as from Exeter, but routed Any Permitted, which while not giving any technical advantage, might give them peace of mind.

 

[Ritchie333]

Can one buy a return ticket from Ashford International to a different station where it might be legitimate to take either route, e.g. to Exeter Central or to Pinhoe? Or does this not get around the issue of having to choose "via Taunton" or "via Honiton"?

Selecting Ashford International to Pinhoe brings up a ticket via Waterloo, but with no underground travel permitted (ie: "losing the cross")

Selecting Exeter Central brings up a generic "Super Off-Peak Return" for £32.85 with a number of route options via Waterloo. In particular, depart Exeter Central 20:30, change at Clapham Junction and Victoria, then take the Kent Downs Line to Ashford, arriving 01:53 - a long time after the last possible return via Taunton and Paddington. However, the option is unselectable, bringing up the message "Train unavailable for your selected fare".

 

[Watershed]

It should be fine to travel via Honition on a via Taunton ticket, for the reason you explain. This is according to NRCoT 9.5.2:

The only option that is available to staff is to charge you this, which as you mention is zero. If the staff to take issue this is all they can do, and as a zero fare excess is a bit of bother to issue they usually just don't bother. There is practically no risk of them attempting anything else, and if they did it should be dropped at any sort of appeal. I would say the chance of it even being raised is low, if you are worried perhaps have a copy of the NRCoT open, which for me has always settled any issues.

As mentioned in a recent thread, there is no need to even obtain any sort of excess. The higher priced fare is valid on the cheaper route as per the Routeing Guide:

Where the fare specifies a particular route, there will be restrictions in the fare routes data that will affect thee routes listed in the Guide which pass through the station shown in the route description. The National Routeing Guide may be used to find out how to reach the station shown in the route description. Where there are other permitted routes, these may also be used for the same journey provided the same or a lower fare applies.

 

[Hadders]

You should be able to buy the cheaper 'via London Honiton' fare and excess the outward portion to '+ via Taunton'. A change of route excess for one leg is half the difference in price between the appropriate fares.

Alternatively, it might be best to just get a ticket to Starcross which is the same price as 'via Taunton' and start/finish short as appropriate.

 

[Benjwri]

As mentioned in a recent thread, there is no need to even obtain any sort of excess. The higher priced fare is valid on the cheaper route as per the Routeing Guide:

Ah thanks, I had forgotten about that.

 

[embers25]

There's also a routing guide easement permitting via Taunton tickets to be used via Yeovil Junction, but I can't get the file to open right now.

 

[Haywain]

There's also a routing guide easement permitting via Taunton tickets to be used via Yeovil Junction, but I can't get the file to open right now.

During engineering works, I believe.

 

[Benjwri]

During engineering works, I believe.

Seems to be at any time, Easement 300227:

Journeys routed Taunton may travel via Yeovil Junction. This easement applies in both directions.