Advance Ticket question

[swidnod]

Hi Guys,

I will be travelling on an advance ticket later this week from Heathrow to Swindon ( not London) requiring changes at Hayes & Harlington & Reading.

Now my flight times have changed and I will miss the reserved part of the journey from Rdg- Swi as I will be too late for my booked train but I do not have reservations for Heathrow Connect or Thames Suburban (FGW).

The question is, can I use my existing ticket as far as Reading, and purchase a Rdg-Swi single or do I need a complete new ticket.

Regards,
Stu from EGDL.

 

[cuccir]

This would be breaking the terms and conditions of your Advance ticket.

Before it is valid for travel, you can change your Advance ticket for an admin fee of £10, either to another Advance or to a more flexible ticket. As well as the £10, you will then pay the difference in cost between the Advance and your new ticket, if there is one.

 

[SickyNicky]

This would be breaking the terms and conditions of your Advance ticket.

Before it is valid for travel, you can change your Advance ticket for an admin fee of £10, either to another Advance or to a more flexible ticket. As well as the £10, you will then pay the difference in cost between the Advance and your new ticket, if there is one.

I agree - you're not allowed to break your journey on an advance ticket. Depending upon how much you paid for the original advance, cuccir's suggestion may well be cheaper than a new ticket from Reading anyway.

If you're leaving the country, make sure you change the ticket over before you leave - it will be too late once the original ticket's booked time has passed.

 

[transmanche]

I agree - you're not allowed to break your journey on an advance ticket.

Is he breaking his journey? Or just using the parts that are not restricted to a specific train. And then 'missing' the booked train and having to purchase a replacement ticket.

 

[SickyNicky]

Is he breaking his journey? Or just using the parts that are not restricted to a specific train. And then 'missing' the booked train and having to purchase a replacement ticket.

That's an interesting technicality. But you're required to be at the station in time to catch the first train, and that means you must make, at latest, the last valid connection. So perhaps it's not even valid on the +connections part, although how enforceable that is, is another matter.

In any case, the OP is probably better off changing to a later time (or to a flexible ticket) and paying the £10 fee.

 

[Paul Kelly]

If the OP does not leave station premises at Reading then I don't think he would be technically breaking his journey. That said I don't think break of journey is the main issue here. You must travel on appropriate connecting trains with an Advance fare - and if the connecting trains do not connect with the reserved train then it's a bit hard to argue that they are appropriate.

 

[swidnod]

Thanks Guys,

I think it is a grey area and I am already out of the country so cannot amend it.

Therefore a new HEx ticket and an advance from Paddington ( with extra built in beer time) will suffice....new tickets cost £31 ish against a Rdg- Swi single of £10 with the potential for full or penalty fare....

I'll take the hit this time for a quiet life!!!

Stu from EGDL.

 

[wintonian]

Thanks Guys,

I think it is a grey area and I am already out of the country so cannot amend it.

Therefore a new HEx ticket and an advance from Paddington ( with extra built in beer time) will suffice....new tickets cost £31 ish against a Rdg- Swi single of £10 with the potential for full or penalty fare....

I'll take the hit this time for a quiet life!!!

Stu from EGDL.

A not Heathrow Exp ticket to Paddington only costs £9.10 for a single which is nearly £10 cheaper than using Heathrow Express and Heathrow connect only stops at Hays & Harlington so doesn't take much longer. You could even look for an AP from Heathrow to Swindon if you wanted.

 

[bb21]

A not Heathrow Exp ticket to Paddington only costs £9.10 for a single which is nearly £10 cheaper than using Heathrow Express and Heathrow connect only stops at Hays & Harlington so doesn't take much longer. You could even look for an AP from Heathrow to Swindon if you wanted.

Heathrow Connect stops at quite a few places between Hayes & Harlington and Paddington such as Ealing Broadway and takes around 12 minutes longer than Heathrow Express between Terminals 1/2/3 and Paddington.

 

[wintonian]

Heathrow Connect stops at quite a few places between Hayes & Harlington and Paddington such as Ealing Broadway and takes around 12 minutes longer than Heathrow Express between Terminals 1/2/3 and Paddington.

12 mins isn't long.

What am I thinking off that only stops at Hayes then?

 

[LexyBoy]

12 mins isn't long.

What am I thinking off that only stops at Hayes then?

The Heathrow Semi-Express?

I don't think there is anything, unless something stopped there before the tunnels were finished? Maybe you're thinking of going westbound, where obviously one only stops at Hayes?

 

[bb21]

The Heathrow Semi-Express?

I don't think there is anything, unless something stopped there before the tunnels were finished? Maybe you're thinking of going westbound, where obviously one only stops at Hayes?

I think there were previously semi-fasts on the GWML that are non-stop after Hayes, however these days they all call at Ealing Broadway so not quite non-stop.