Weekly commute Derby - Birmingham

[button_boxer]

I'm looking for tickets that would allow me to travel from Derby (DBY) to Jewellery Quarter station in Birmingham (JEQ) on a Monday morning and back on Friday evening. Going out I'd want the 08:53 XC service from Derby, coming back probably the 19:03 or 19:30 from Birmingham New Street. Would prefer to avoid advances, particularly for the return leg.

The through Anytime Return DBY-JEQ is £32. The Off-Peak Return is £15.60 but not valid until the 09:36 from Derby so no use in this case. I've got this down to £25 for an Anytime Return from East Midlands Parkway or Loughborough to JEQ, which I believe is valid via Derby, but am I likely to get trouble off the Derby barrier staff using this (I assume it won't operate the automatic barriers)?

Alternatively DBY-Birmingham International is also £25 for the Anytime Return (which would work the DBY barrier) and an extra £1.60 each way from Birmingham Moor Street to JEQ.

Does anyone have any better ideas or other anomalies I've missed?

 

[dvboy]

depending where in jewellry quarter you need to get to, it could be quicker to exit victoria square at new st and walk rather than walk to moor st then get a train.

 

[button_boxer]

depending where in jewellry quarter you need to get to, it could be quicker to exit victoria square at new st and walk rather than walk to moor st then get a train.

My destination is pretty much next door to JEQ station, but yes, walking might be an option. Ideally I'd like a ticket valid to JEQ so I can decide which to do at the time.

 

[dvboy]

OK the other suggestion I could make is bus 101 which runs from Colmore Row to the Jewellery Quarter and would cost £1 a journey.

 

[bb21]

Travelling via Derby on an East Midlands Parkway-Birmingham Stations (or for your commute, Jewellery Quarter) ticket is indisputably valid as, at 51.75 miles, it is the shortest route.

 

[button_boxer]

Travelling via Derby on an East Midlands Parkway-Birmingham Stations (or for your commute, Jewellery Quarter) ticket is indisputably valid as, at 51.75 miles, it is the shortest route.

If we ignore the old Lichfield/Tamworth chestnut...

I tried to work this out with the routeing guide. EMD has associated RPs of Derby, Loughborough Group, Chesterfield and Nottingham Group. EMD-JEQ is £17.80 Off-Peak Single (SVS) and £22 Anytime Single (SOS), and this flow doesn't appear to have any day single (CDS or SDS) fares. Loughborough-JEQ has exactly the same fares, so is an appropriate routeing point, but I couldn't work out how to apply the fare check to DBY as DBY-JEQ appears to have only day singles (CDS £14.70 and SDS £16.30) and no SVS or SOS fare.

Is the fact that the DBY-JEQ CDS (SDS) is cheaper than EMD-JEQ SVS (SOS) enough to make Derby an appropriate RP? If so then there's no question it's valid via Derby and Tamworth.

 

[John @ home]

Is the fact that the DBY-JEQ CDS (SDS) is cheaper than EMD-JEQ SVS (SOS) enough to make Derby an appropriate RP?

Yes. This issue is dealt with in the National Routeing Guide Instructions.

All fares comparisons must be made using one of the following single ticket types:
• Standard Open Single (SOS)
• Standard Day Single (SDS)
• Saver Single (SVS)
• Cheap Day Single (CDS)
In exceptional circumstances, due to local fares policies, a direct comparison may not be possible. If this is the case and the origin station or destination station has a lower fare of the type selected than all its routeing points, the Standard Single (Day or Open) fares should be used for comparison purposes.

http://www.atoc.org/clientfiles/File/RSPDocuments/instructions.pdf

Firstly, the same ticket type is compared. If this is not possible, the Instructions make it clear that SDS should then be compared with SOS.

If so then there's no question it's valid via Derby and Tamworth.

I think that logic is the wrong way round. The shortest route East Midlands Parkway - Jewellery Quarter with a passenger rail service is via Derby, Lichfield and Birmingham. It is therefore a Permitted Route according to the first page of the Instructions. The distance is not shown in the current Table 57, but the shortest route does not cease to be the shortest route due to errors and omissions in the National Rail timetable.

The route via Derby, Tamworth and Birmingham is not more than 3 miles longer than the shortest route with a passenger rail service. It is therefore also a Permitted Route by page F9 of the National Routeing Guide in Detail.

Therefore there is no need to perform a fares check when considering the validity of East Midlands Parkway - Jewellery Quarter via Derby, Lichfield and Birmingham, or via Derby, Tamworth and Birmingham. Both are Permitted Routes.