Crewe to Euston on Saturday

[hi2u_uk]

I have a advance lnw ticket from Crewe to Euston on Saturday tomorrow and I really can't change the date. Will I be allowed on another train company train at Crewe with the same ticket .This is not clear from the website

 

[sonic2009]

LNWR have strike action this weekend. So there is no service between Crewe and London Euston via the Trent Valley.

Strike information

If your train is cancelled or delayed, and you choose not to travel, tickets can be changed to another date, or they can be returned for a full refund at your point of purchase. No administration fee will be charged. For more information, please visit our Refund & Exchanges policy.

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[deltic]

A good example of poor customer information. No information given on possible alternative services that are available to passengers and no explanation as to why tickets are not valid on Avanti services.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Section 28.2 of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage is relevant here

28.2 Where disruption prevents you from completing the journey for which your Ticket is
valid and is being used, any Train Company will, where it reasonably can, provide
you with alternative means of travel to your destination, or if necessary, provide
overnight accommodation for you.

Given every LNWR service from Crewe is cancelled, Avanti are obligated to carry you at least as far as Birmingham where you could pick up an LNWR to London.

Edit: Actually is looks like LNWR are still running the xx:19s from Crewe to Birmingham, you'll have no issues getting that.
Although it will add 2 hours to your journey.

 

[Wolfie]

Section 28.2 of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage is relevant here

Given every LNWR service from Crewe is cancelled, Avanti are obligated to carry you at least as far as Birmingham where you could pick up an LNWR to London.

The first sentence of your second para isn't true though. LNWR are running one train per hour between Liverpool and Birmingham. Similarly one train per hour between Birmingham and Euston. That level of service is horribly vulnerable to cancellations.

It should be possible to do Crewe to London via Birmingham but it's likely to be very slow (4 hours with a 46 mins connection time according to the LNWR website) and very very crowded.

Watch out for the recent LNWR stunt of running 730s with zero functioning toilets.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

The first sentence of your second para isn't true though. LNWR are running one train per hour between Liverpool and Birmingham.

Yep, I realised a bit after and edited my post (presumably you had already loaded the page by then).

 

[Wolfie]

Yep, I realised a bit after and edited my post (presumably you had already loaded the page by then).

No worries - guess so.

 

[hi2u_uk]

I'm a bit confused about whether the answer is yes or no. I was thinking of getting an avanti train from Crewe or go to Manchester to get one using the current ticket I have

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 May 2026 ==

Section 28.2 of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage is relevant here

Given every LNWR service from Crewe is cancelled, Avanti are obligated to carry you at least as far as Birmingham where you could pick up an LNWR to London.

Edit: Actually is looks like LNWR are still running the xx:19s from Crewe to Birmingham, you'll have no issues getting that.
Although it will add 2 hours to your journey.

Will there be enough capacity? I can't be the only person doing that on Saturday
I'm not keen on an extra 2h being added

 

[Haywain]

I'm a bit confused about whether the answer is yes or no.

Serously, you need to contact LNR to ask that. If there is ticket acceptance agreed with Avanti it will be LNR who are arranging it. But I suspect that you will be disappointed with the answer.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A post elsewhere on here (forget where) suggested acceptance with Avanti had been requested but it does look a bit like it wasn't forthcoming.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 May 2026 ==

I'm a bit confused about whether the answer is yes or no. I was thinking of getting an avanti train from Crewe or go to Manchester to get one using the current ticket I have

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 May 2026 ==


Will there be enough capacity? I can't be the only person doing that on Saturday
I'm not keen on an extra 2h being added

The Liverpools look to be 8 car so that's the same capacity as usual on that route. As some will be put off and will take refunds I reckon it will be OK.

 

[Watershed]

Since sticking with LNR would involve a delay of more than an hour, you're entitled to require them to reroute you "at the earliest opportunity" and "subject to comparable transport conditions". That is generally understood as meaning a journey with a similar number of changes, i.e. none in this case, and a similar journey time, i.e. not 2 hours slower.

Given the circumstances, arranging for your ticket to be accepted on a direct Avanti service, or providing you with an endorsement or new ticket as appropriate, would appear to be the only way that WMT can comply with that obligation.

Since it appears they're refusing to do so (ideally you would have this in writing but I hardly think they will deny that they aren't making arrangements), you would be entitled to buy a new ticket as necessary and then claim back the cost from them afterwards.

I imagine they might try and refuse that claim too, but they really don't have any defence so if it were me, any refusal would be met by a Letter Before Claim and if still unpaid, a court claim via the Money Claims Online service.

Of course I recognise not everyone will be up for that level of hassle/effort when taking alternative WMT services involves "only" a 2 hour delay and would result in no ticket acceptance issues. But I want the OP to be aware of their options.

 

[hi2u_uk]

Since sticking with LNR would involve a delay of more than an hour, you're entitled to require them to reroute you "at the earliest opportunity" and "subject to comparable transport conditions". That is generally understood as meaning a journey with a similar number of changes, i.e. none in this case, and a similar journey time, i.e. not 2 hours slower.

Given the circumstances, arranging for your ticket to be accepted on a direct Avanti service, or providing you with an endorsement or new ticket as appropriate, would appear to be the only way that WMT can comply with that obligation.

Since it appears they're refusing to do so (ideally you would have this in writing but I hardly think they will deny that they aren't making arrangements), you would be entitled to buy a new ticket as necessary and then claim back the cost from them afterwards.

I imagine they might try and refuse that claim too, but they really don't have any defence so if it were me, any refusal would be met by a Letter Before Claim and if still unpaid, a court claim via the Money Claims Online service.

Of course I recognise not everyone will be up for that level of hassle/effort when taking alternative WMT services involves "only" a 2 hour delay and would result in no ticket acceptance issues. But I want the OP to be aware of their options.

To be honest im thinking of buying an avanti ticket and claiming a full refund on the wmt ticket but this will leave me out of pocket. Im happy to board an avanti train and if I get fined take it to court. Im not happy going via Birmingham for 2h extra
There will be a lot of people that have no idea about this strike. Im Surprised better arrangements haven't been put in place

 

[Wolfie]

To be honest im thinking of buying an avanti ticket and claiming a full refund on the wmt ticket but this will leave me out of pocket. Im happy to board an avanti train and if I get fined take it to court. Im not happy going via Birmingham for 2h extra
There will be a lot of people that have no idea about this strike. Im Surprised better arrangements haven't been put in place

It may be as simple as Avanti, knowing that their services will be busy, have declined ticket acceptance. If so boarding an Avanti train is far from risk-free.

 

[Darandio]

There will be a lot of people that have no idea about this strike.

Possibly, but who is at fault there? It's been on national news, the TOC websites have posted news articles about it and National Rail Enquiries has had a big red banner across the top of it's site for nearly a week about it.

 

[Watershed]

To be honest im thinking of buying an avanti ticket and claiming a full refund on the wmt ticket but this will leave me out of pocket.

You should only request a refund on your WMT ticket if you have decided not to travel at all. If you opt for a refund this is effectively the end of the train company's liability, and it excludes any possibility of getting reimbursed for a new ticket you're forced to buy.

Im happy to board an avanti train and if I get fined take it to court. Im not happy going via Birmingham for 2h extra
There will be a lot of people that have no idea about this strike.

I wouldn't suggest simply boarding and taking it to Court. As far as Avanti are concerned, you don't have a valid ticket and as harsh as that attitude is, they are likely to be correct. The correct approach is to buy a new ticket and claim it back afterwards.

If you're happy to go to Court it's much better to be on the claimant side in a civil case (where you can choose to settle or discontinue at any point) than to be the defendant in a criminal prosecution (where a settlement is not guaranteed and may be very expensive).

Im Surprised better arrangements haven't been put in place

It's a very poor showing but I can't say I'm surprised. The industry is terrible at providing alternatives during disruption. There is a corporate mentality that as long as you have offered a refund, people "can't complain".

Possibly, but who is at fault there? It's been on national news, the TOC websites have posted news articles about it and National Rail Enquiries has had a big red banner across the top of it's site for nearly a week about it.

People have, in good faith, bought their ticket and have every right to expect that the timetable is honoured. There is no obligation to check your journey before setting out or to constantly check the news (which it's not even that high up, since it's a relatively small scale strike). Most people I know don't do the former and several don't do the latter.

In most sensible countries, disputes like this either don't result in strikes at all (because they're resolved more effectively or strikes aren't allowed in essential services), or there is a reasonable minimum service timetable.

It's victim blaming of the highest order to suggest that the poor passengers caught in the crossfire are at fault here.

 

[hi2u_uk]

@Watershed I thought that is what you are suggesting I dud in my post 12

I bought the ticket online. Why is it that the train company don't email the people who bought tickets online as they have our contact information . This is what airlines do

 

[Watershed]

@Watershed I thought that is what you are suggesting I dud in my post 12

Just to clear up any confusion, my advice is:

• Don't refund your existing ticket.
• Ask WMT about ticket acceptance on Avanti and get their refusal in writing (e.g. via social media).
• Buy a new ticket for Avanti
• Contact WMT customer services afterwards to complain and claim reimbursement for the new ticket.

I bought the ticket online. Why is it that the train company don't email the people who bought tickets online as they have our contact information . This is what airlines do

You should have been informed by the retailer; who did you book with?

 

[hi2u_uk]

Do you mean contact WMT on twitter/ x ? i had uninstalled that as i was getting a lot of porn, racism , sexism and fakeness on my feed. It was just getting very stressful and disgusting everytime i looked at it

I booked it with Uber

 

[Watershed]

Do you mean contact WMT on twitter/ x ? i had uninstalled that as i was getting a lot of porn, racism , sexism and fakeness on my feed. It was just getting very stressful and disgusting everytime i looked at it

I booked it with Uber

That would be one method, yes. Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger etc. would all work too. The point is that you have something in writing that way.

 

[mmh]

The attached are images of WMT's responses to people asking on X/Twitter if they can use their WMT tickets on Avanti yesterday. WMT advised no, and that a passenger would need to buy an "Avanti ticket."

 

[hi2u_uk]

They said i would need to go via Birmingham and that their tickets cannot be used on AVANTI

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 May 2026 ==

The attached are images of WMT's responses to people asking on X/Twitter if they can use their WMT tickets on Avanti yesterday. WMT advised no, and that a passenger would need to buy an "Avanti ticket."

yup

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 May 2026 ==

On another point who is responsible for issuing the ticket refund. I bought it from uber do i contact them or should i contact west midlands trains

 

[Haywain]

If you have decided not to travel the refund should be claimed from Uber.

 

[hi2u_uk]

If you have decided not to travel the refund should be claimed from Uber.

OK I will try though the FAQ says contact the train company

 

[Haywain]

OK I will try though the FAQ says contact the train company

If you have not travelled, a refund is always claimed from the retailer. Uber might use some unclear terminology, but on my app I see instructions for "Cancelling my train reservation". You only go to the train operator for delay compensation if travel and arrive later than advertised at your destination.