Abandoned journey at Smethwick Galton Bridge

[crosscity]

Yesterday (Sat) it was a beautifuI sunny day so I decided I would photo the Deltic-hauled special train which criss-crossed the Midlands and Wales from early 'til late. I decided to see the train at Rowley Regis, where the train was timed to stop from 18:55 to 19:03. Hopefully the sun would be in a good place for photos.

I presented myself at Kings Norton at 17:30 and bought an Off-Peak Day Return (with Railcard) to Rowley Regis for £2.40. Kings Norton is on the CrossCity line to New St and Rowley Regis is on the Birmingham Moor St/Snow Hill to Stourbridge line. To get from one line to the other you are allowed to either change stations in Birmingham City Centre or travel to Smethwick Galton Bridge and change there.

I decided to catch the 18:08 from New St and got off at Smethwick Galton Bridge at 18:16. I was on the Stourbridge platform at 18:20 in time for the following trains which would get me to Rowley Regis before the special: 18:22, 18:32 and 18:42. A signal failure (which I suspect was at Smethwick Galton Bridge) meant all three trains were cancelled! As look would have it I saw and photographed the Deltic from the Galton Bridge platform as it passed Smethwick Junction at 18:52 on its way to Rowley Regis so all was not lost.

After the Deltic had passed I no longer had a need to travel to Rowley Regis and so abandoned the journey and headed back to New St.

What I want the forum to consider is if I could make a claim as I had to abandon my journey at Smethwick Galton Bridge, and how much would I be refunded. I feel out of pocket by 20p as the fare to Galton Bridge from Kings Norton would have been £2.20.

Of course, these are paltry amounts, so I won't be actually be claiming anything. Besides I did actually achieve what I set out to do. I'd still like your thoughts.

 

[yorkie]

Yes you are entitled to at least the 20p back, but it's not worth claiming it.

 

[bb21]

If you did not make it to your destination, in theory you are due a full refund.

However since you achieved the objective of your trip, and the fare difference between the journey you made and the one you intended to make is only 20p, it is down to a judgement call, but if you claim, then I believe you are in theory entitled to a full refund.

 

[Starmill]

I believe that if you voluntarily return to your origin in lieu of insisting on the fulfilment of your contract, be that either by an eventual or late running train, a replacement bus or some other mode of transport your ticket has been arranged to be accepted on or in a taxi provided to you, then you should be eligible for a full refund. In addition to it I think being in the NCRoT, I would argue it is in the interest of the train companies to ensure that's on offer too, as it is probably cheaper for them than dealing with an extra passenger or paying for another taxi at times of severe disruption.

 

[clagmonster]

Indeed, condition 30.1 states:
"If the train you intended to use is cancelled, delayed, or your reservation will
not be honoured, and you decide not to travel, you may return the unused
Ticket to the original retailer or Train Company from whom it was purchased,
where you will be given a full refund with no administration fee being
charged.
This Condition applies to all Tickets, including Tickets (such as advance
Tickets) that are otherwise non-refundable, and also applies if you have
begun your journey but are unable to complete it due to delay or
cancellations and return to your point of origin."
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/Conditions of Travel 2016.pdf

You were unable to complete your journey due to the three cancellations, hence I would argue full refund of the £2.60 fare. I suppose the company could argue that you could complete the journey but with a delay, but that would seem petty to me.

 

[causton]

As someone who has managed to get a refund authorised under condition 30.1 for someone who got all the way into London and found out all trains out of Liverpool Street were cancelled and then came back up the West Coast Main Line, and they got a full refund, I am sure that you could claim the full cost of your ticket back! If they refused, the arguing would cost them more than if they just gave in and refunded it in the first place so might be worth a try, but for a value that small...

 

[crosscity]

Thank you all for your replies.

It's comforting to know I would have the law on my side to claim a full refund. Things could have turned out differently for me as I only decided to go via the 'change at Galton Bridge' route on the train to New St. If I had walked over to Moor St I would never have got to Galton Bridge and may have been stuck on the first cancelled train at The Hawthorns. In that case I might have made the claim.

Fair play to London Midland in that there were announcements that tickets would be accepted on local buses and the tram, but really that was no help to me.

An aside: Because of the half-disappointment earlier in the day, I drove round to Northfield Station at 10pm to see the Deltic again on its way back to Burton. The driver forgot to stop at Northfield, which must have had some hearts skipping a beat as the next scheduled stop was Tamworth! Someone was probably on the blower pronto, and some quick consulting with Control allowed the special to go via New St instead of the Camp Hill line, allowing an unscheduled stop at Kings Norton to be made. In the meantime I managed to drive to Kings Norton and witness and photo the Deltic there too. So the day didn't end all badly.