Oakham ( Rutland ) to the South West

[Peter Mugridge]

Looking on BR Fares, I can see direct fares via Bristol on Cross Country, but the only via London fares appear to be advances.

Is there any way of getting a via London fare as one ticket without having to buy Oakham to London and London to wherever in Cornwall I might want to go, please?

I'll be moving to Oakham soon and the prospect of having to go on a 220 / 221 from New Street all the way to the South West is not exactly appealing even if it is an easier journey!!

 

[JonathanH]

Seems to me that a split at Leicester, Stamford, or Corby, as appropriate, is necessary, although I think a Stamford to Cornwall +Any Permitted ticket can be used via Leicester, and into St Pancras, on the basis of the routeing point calculator and an easement.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Ah, so if I buy a Stamford to wherever ticket instead of one from Oakham then the problem vanishes?

Thank you... I hadn't thought to check fares from Stamford...

 

[JonathanH]

Unfortunately, I am not sure I got the complete picture, having only looked at the routeing points and not the maps

Oakham is a routeing point, and for trips to the West Country, the only permitted route is using maps BP+PB, which means only via Birmingham and Cheltenham, so even though a Stamford to Cornwall ticket routed +Any Permitted is valid via Oakham, it is only valid beyond there via Birmingham, not into St Pancras. Stamford is not a routeing point.

There are fares routed via +Any Permitted from Leicester, Stamford and Corby to Devon and Cornwall which are routed via +Any Permitted, but a separate ticket seems to be needed to get from Oakham (or Melton Mowbray) to any of these places first to go via London, as Peterborough to

This is the line from the 'yellow pages' of the routeing guide https://iblocks-rg-publication.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/yellow_pages.pdf



[Screenshots show that routeing points Leicester and Peterborough both allow routes via London and on maps BP+PB to Plymouth Group, but Oakham only allows route BP+PB]

Peterborough to London is not valid via Leicester. Leicester to London is valid via Oakham and Corby, for situations when there is engineering work (map MO), but there aren't currently any direct services between Oakham and Corby, and even where there are, off-peak tickets aren't valid.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Interesting, because the Stamford to ( Cornish destination ) does show on brfares as being set by GWR and has time restrictions that mention London.

Failing that, yes I can see that a Leicester to ( Cornish destination ) would definitely work, albeit requiring as you say an Oakham to Leicester ticket in addition.

 

[JonathanH]

Indeed Stamford to <Cornish Destination> is, but only via Peterborough.

It does seem to be a stupid situation. The fares from Stamford, Leicester and Corby to <Cornish Destinations> routed + Any Permitted are all roughly the same price, but there aren't corresponding fares or routeing provision from Melton Mowbray or Oakham.

As a further alternative, itineraries from Nottingham to <Cornish Destination> are valid via Oakham and Peterborough (as Nottingham to London is valid on map combination PN+KP, and Nottingham to Cornish Destination will have fares routed + Any Permitted) but the additional fare for starting from Nottingham may be more than the cost of getting from Oakham to Stamford.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Hmm... Oakham to Stamford then via Peterborough is going to be quicker than via Leicester anyway isn't it?

 

[Jim the Jim]

Hmm... Oakham to Stamford then via Peterborough is going to be quicker than via Leicester anyway isn't it?

Oakham to Paddington seems to be typically 10-15 minutes quicker via Peterborough, though it looks to be typically slightly more expensive.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Oakham to Paddington seems to be typically 10-15 minutes quicker via Peterborough, though it looks to be typically slightly more expensive.

That 15 minutes could make an hour's difference getting to Cornwall, though, if on an open ticket without a reservation?

 

[Starmill]

Don't forget to compare the above (good) advice with the Trainsplit results.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Don't forget to compare the above (good) advice with the Trainsplit results.

I would prefer to avoid having multiple split tickets...

My interest is more in avoiding having to sit on a 220 / 221 for five hours ( or at least four hours as most services don't seem to go further than Plymouth now ) than in getting the cheapest possible fare.

If only XC had a fleet of IETs or FLIRTs instead...

 

[Starmill]

My interest is more in avoiding having to sit on a 220 / 221 for five hours ( or at least four hours as most services don't seem to go further than Plymouth now ) than in getting the cheapest possible fare.

It's relatively easy to do that by for example putting in, say, Peterborough or Leicester to Penzance and deselecting CrossCountry, then working backwards.

 

[blimmo]

I would prefer to avoid having multiple split tickets...

Your choice ofc but would you be willing to share why?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Your choice ofc but would you be willing to share why?

I like the flexibility of not having to find things which call at specific stations ( if not everything calls somewhere. for example ) as I often don't travel at a fixed time. For the same reason - flexibility - I never use advance tickets except of course where it's something like the Sleeper when everything is effectively an advance tied to the one train in any case.

It's relatively easy to do that by for example putting in, say, Peterborough or Leicester to Penzance and deselecting CrossCountry, then working backwards.

I'm not buying online; I always use a ticket office... so can I get a through ticket Oakham to Cornwall like this by requesting a specific routing or would it still come up as multiple tickets?

 

[Starmill]

I like the flexibility of not having to find things which call at specific stations ( if not everything calls somewhere. for example ) as I often don't travel at a fixed time. For the same reason - flexibility - I never use advance tickets except of course where it's something like the Sleeper when everything is effectively an advance tied to the one train in any case.



I'm not buying online; I always use a ticket office... so can I get a through ticket Oakham to Cornwall like this by requesting a specific routing or would it still come up as multiple tickets?

Trainsplit allows you to choose whether you would like to have one ticket or split tickets. Although a ticket office can happily issue a split if asked. For example if you were splitting at Plymouth you wouldn't be able to go through there without stopping anyway.

 

[Haywain]

. so can I get a through ticket Oakham to Cornwall like this by requesting a specific routing or would it still come up as multiple tickets?

If you want a through ticket you only get the routings that are available for that ticket. If you want multiple tickets at a ticket office you will need to specify which tickets you want.

 

[kieron]

Is there any way of getting a via London fare as one ticket without having to buy Oakham to London and London to wherever in Cornwall I might want to go, please?

There is likely to be a through ticket you can use, but there are 35 stations in Cornwall across five branches plus Penzance. It's hard to say anything for sure without knowing which of them you mean.

I like the flexibility of not having to find things which call at specific stations ( if not everything calls somewhere. for example ) as I often don't travel at a fixed time.

I can understand that, but what about buying one ticket to London zone U1 and another from London to your destination? That would give you the equivalent of a "✠ via London" ticket, which sounds like the thing you're asking for. The only limitation it has compared to a through ticket is that it isn't automatically valid via Birmingham.

 

[JonathanH]

There is likely to be a through ticket you can use, but there are 35 stations in Cornwall across five branches plus Penzance. It's hard to say anything for sure without knowing which of them you mean.

There isn't because Oakham to all the relevant routeing points in the West Country only has BP+PB as the available routeing and there are no +Any Permitted fares to from Oakham to anywhere in the West Country.

The best I can find is starting short on a ticket from Nottingham, which means that travel from Oakham has to be towards and via Peterborough, or splitting at Leicester, Corby or Stamford, which all have the relevant fares.

As noted above, a ticket from Stamford to the West Country can be used via Peterborough and London, or through Oakham and Birmingham, but not via Kettering.

 

[kieron]

There isn't because Oakham to all the relevant routeing points in the West Country only has BP+PB as the available routeing and there are no +Any Permitted fares to from Oakham to anywhere in the West Country.

You are entitled to your opinion, but I know that there are tickets to some Cornish stations which can be used for a journey from Oakham via London. I didn't just look at tickets which had "Oakham" printed on them.

 

[Starmill]

You are entitled to your opinion, but I know that there are tickets to some Cornish stations which can be used for a journey from Oakham via London. I didn't just look at tickets which had "Oakham" printed on them.

I think JonathanH was likely only considering tickets with an origin of Oakham as part of that answer.

I can understand that, but what about buying one ticket to London zone U1 and another from London to your destination? That would give you the equivalent of a "✠ via London" ticket, which sounds like the thing you're asking for. The only limitation it has compared to a through ticket is that it isn't automatically valid via Birmingham.

I agree this suggestion is likely to be very useful if the traveller is not concerned about the possibility of validity via Cheltenham Spa, as it sounds like they're not.

 

[JonathanH]

I think JonathanH was likely only considering tickets with an origin of Oakham as part of that answer.

I wasn't. I think it is clear that the + Any Permitted fare from Nottingham to Cornwall is valid via Oakham, and the + Any Permitted fare from Stamford to Cornwall is not valid via Kettering, but I admit I haven't checked tickets from further afield. I guess there could well be other tickets to draw to the attention of the original poster but perhaps they shouldn't be shared more widely.

 

[Starmill]

I haven't checked tickets from further afield.

I would say in that case, you've already answered your question!