Abbreviations

[Ivo]

First of all, let me say that I was not sure as to where to post this. If any moderator feels it should be moved, please do.

Anyway...

Having had a little "play" with the Avantix thingy, I still don't quite understand the myriad abbreviations used within it, and I can't seem to find an Index of them either. To give some examples...

Back home, Thorpe Bay to Southend Central gives the following:

SDS (Standard Day Single); CDR (Off-Peak Day Return, presumably derived from the defunct Cheap Day Return); SDR (Standard Day Return); the ridiculously pointless KFQ (Kids for a Quid... but £999? :roll; and finally, CBA, which I do not understand.

There are worse examples, especially where Advance tickets are concerned...

Given the multitude of such abbreviations, would it be best to just overlook them? Or does anyone know where one might be able to find a definitive list of such abbreviations?

Thank you...

 

[glynn80]

I did post a comprenhensive list of the main Fare Type Acronyms back in August (http://railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=337963&postcount=2).

 

[yorkie]

The abbreviations for ticket types are not very useful. I'd ignore the Advance ones. Abbreviations for stations are useful and can easily be looked up (many can be remembered) and most make some sort of sense. But ticket type abbreviations? Since "simplification" they have gone from bad to worse!

 

[clagmonster]

I suspect the reason the kids for a quid is down as an adult price of £999 is just to prevent it being issued as an adult ticket. If you put in one child, it correctly shows at £1.00.

 

[EM2]

I always thought CBA was 'Can't Be Arsed'...

 

[dan_atki]

Advances tend to have a pattern, which you can spot looking at the range.

SWT use class abbreviation (S/F), tier (1-4), followed by a filling 'A', so S1A is the cheapest Standard advance, and F4A is the most expensive First advance.

FGW appear to use a similar system but use W/D as opposed to S/F. Tiers are lettered reverse alphabetically (and maybe two parts of the alphabet where new tiers have been created), and use 'S' as the filling letter.

East Coast use B/O and the tiers are forward alphabetical, with a filling S.

CrossCountry typically use M as a filler at the front, then a lettered tier (in reverse alphabetical), then the S/F.

London Midland use F 1/3/7 V for Firsts, and C 1/3/7 S for Standards (swapping the S/F positioning).

Southern use S A/B/C V, in forward alphabetical becoming more expensive.

EMT use 1/2 to denote First/Standard, a lettered tier (seemingly A-H), and then either an I or an S. However, these three appear in any order! I assume they mean *something*...

Top marks to Virgin Trains, however, in the most confusing Advance abbreviations! It would seem to be V/F (V meaning standard somehow), then a lettered tier, then a filling 'S', was the standard form. However, there are as many types that do not conform to this as there are that do! I think 'P' at the end is taken to mean 'promotional', though.

 

[Ivo]

So it's not just me being stupid then

Because something like Ticket Type MCS between BUT and TRR really is quite hard to understand...*

I could get the BUT and TRR given time. Burton upon Trent and Torre.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....Top marks to Virgin Trains, however, in the most confusing Advance abbreviations! It would seem to be V/F (V meaning standard somehow), then a lettered tier, then a filling 'S', was the standard form. However, there are as many types that do not conform to this as there are that do! I think 'P' at the end is taken to mean 'promotional', though.

Virgin's abbreviations have a history though, As I recall they came about when Virgin dumped Super Advance and Apex for 'Virgin Value' around the turn of the century. They had singles and returns initially (VVS & VVR IIRC), then they added 'Value 2' fares (V2S & V2R IIRC) then they abandoned returns and changed the abbreviation so that they could be called 'Value Advance' or something like that (VAS/VBS etc). Simplification simply changed the name. Could be wrong but that is my recollection of it all.

 

[yorkie]

They had 14, 7 and 3 day advances. If there was an unpopular train it may never sell out of the 14 day tickets but the fact they were not bought within 14 tickets meant the quota just disappeared, leaving you with the more expensive 7 day ones. This was probably the first way of doing single leg AP fares in the way that we now see as normal, it was just that the quotas automatically became unavailable several days in advance rather than the night before as it is today.