Hatfield to Bath ticket query

[jon0844]

I need to go to Bath next week, most likely Tuesday, possibly on a train leaving before 10am but possibly not.

I will start from Hatfield but have a Z1-6 annual Travelcard so could get a return from boundary zone 6 perhaps.

Any suggestions on the best way to do this, or whether it's cheaper to go from another station further inside the zones?

I will be returning the same day.

 

[yorkie]

Hatfield [HAT] - Bath Spa [BTH]
Super Off Peak Rtn £54-00
This is valid:
Any train Hatfield-London (and vice-versa)
Services timed to depart PAD between 1010 & 1501 and from 1901.

However it is far cheaper for you to use your Travelcard in combination with:

Boundary Zone 6 [0072] - Didcot Parkway [DID]
Off Peak Day Return £13.20 Edit: actually only £8.70 with your Annual Gold Card!
This is valid:
By any train except those timed to depart Mondays to Fridays before 0930

plus

Didcot Parkway [DID] - Bath Spa [BTH]
Off Peak Day Return £16.20
This is valid:
By any train except those timed to depart Mondays to Fridays before 0915

Total = £24.90

Didcot is always the best place to split on this route for day returns.

The train does not need to call at Didcot, as one of your tickets is a Season and the others are not, however some guards may be unaware of the full rules of Condition 19 and may challenge it. So be prepared!

 

[John @ home]

I will start from Hatfield but have a Z1-6 annual Travelcard so could get a return from boundary zone 6 perhaps.

There are no fares Boundary Zone 6 - Bath Spa. Boundary Zone tickets tend to available to places within the Network Area only.

There are these fares:
Boundary Zone 6 - Didcot Parkway Off-Peak Day Return (CDR) £13.20 (£8.70 from 10:00 with your Gold Card) (Validity Code W1)
Didcot Parkway - Bath Spa Off-Peak Day Return (CDR) £16.20 (Validity Code W2)

Taken together with your Hatfield - London Zones 1-6 annual Travelcard, this combination would allow you to undertake a day return for £29.40 (£24.90 from 10:00), considerably less than the Super Off-Peak Return (SSR) London - Bath Spa route Any Permitted which costs £48.80 (Validity Code YU).

Your train does not need to call at Didcot Parkway because "one of the tickets is a Season Ticket ... and the other tickets are not". See National Rail Conditions of Carriage Condition 19.

You could also combine your annual Travelcard with a Surbiton - Bath Spa route Warminster / Salisbury Off-Peak Day Return (CDR) £32.30 (Validity Code UO), but this is more expensive and slower.

 

[jon0844]

Thanks - this is quite a saving, and with the 1/3 discount on the BZ6-Didcot, I'm saving a fair bit.

It's a shame I can't book a BZ6 ticket online to collect, so I hope there won't be a large queue on the day I go! Perhaps I should reserve the Didcot to Bath ticket though, so I am only asking at the ticket office for one ticket (they can get rather confused at the best of times).

 

[yorkie]

Yes, good idea. You can also obtain the ticket at Hatfield or Paddington (or KGX but I'd be tempted to go straight to PAD - unless the queues by the FCC platforms at KGX are very small when you arrive)

 

[OwlMan]

A Hayes & Harlington to Didcot CDR is the same price as a BZ6 to Didcot as one of your tickets is a season it would be just as valid.