B,ham - Marylebone Fri 23 Dec

[73101]

Hi all,

Im braving the crowds to meet my gf in London.

As im carrying my toddler (no pushchair), and expecting the train to be busy....can I ask some questions. My computer is down, and not sure how reliable the phone app is.....

1. Is this fri classed like a weekend, allowing you to get a train at 08.12 from Brum on the £25 ticket....my app says yes, but not sure.
...or is the 09.55 still the first ?

2. Can I add a london travelcard on for about 5-8 quid to any ticket.

3. To make sure I get a seat and say, board a train starting at moor st, do you get allowed on early ?

4. Which services start from moor st between 08 and 10.00 and whats the most I will pay for an adult day return with or without travelcard, returning after 19.00.

Feel free to answer any question lol.

Thanks very much to anyone who can help

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Cant answer the ticketing questions, but you can jump on the train early at starting stations. Trains starting at Moor Street can stand in the bay platforms (3 or 4) for up to half an hour before they are due out. If they havent been posted on the screen yet but you suspect that the train you are looking at is bound for London then just ask a member of staff to confirm. The barrier staff should know what is going where. Same things apply at other terminal stations like Stratford or London Marylebone, albeit the window might be smaller between the train arriving and departing. At Marylebone it is always a good idea to walk to the very front of the train to get a seat too, it is quite amazing how many people just pile on through the nearest set of doors to the barrier. If you let yourself through the barrier then the dispatchers on the platforms might willing to tell you where the Birmingham train is going from before it is posted on the screens. They arent obliged to and often trains arent posted until late for good reasons (usually they are sharing a platform with another train which is due out earlier) but it wont do any harm to ask.

 

[SS4]

1. Is this fri classed like a weekend, allowing you to get a train at 08.12 from Brum on the £25 ticket....my app says yes, but not sure.
...or is the 09.55 still the first ?

According to NRES and the Chiltern site it is treated as a weekday so the 0955 off BMO is the first train to offer the £25 ticket.


For the most part you are better off getting a train from Moor Street ([stn]BMO[/stn]) rather than Snow Hill ([stn]BSW[/stn]) since last time I check 2tph leave BMO whereas only 1tph leaves BSW. Your ticket will state "Birmingham Stns" on which means you can get on/off at either.

2. Can I add a london travelcard on for about 5-8 quid to any ticket.

Yes

3. To make sure I get a seat and say, board a train starting at moor st, do you get allowed on early ?

Yes. If you app has live departures on be sure to check it to see what platform it leaves from although at Moor St it's usually in the bay platform (4 if my memory serves me correctly but corrections are welcome!).
You may also do the same at Marylebone and I second Cherry Picker's suggestion to walk to the front of the train (at both stations). I would recommend checking the app at Marylebone because it gave me a few minutes ahead of everyone else using the departure boards.

If the Chiltern app doesn't have live departures then the XC one does (at least for Android)

4. Which services start from moor st between 08 and 10.00 and whats the most I will pay for an adult day return with or without travelcard, returning after 19.00.

£75 for an Anytime Return (£80 with travelcard)
£50 for an Off-Peak Return (Rte High Wycombe) [£55 with travelcard]
£25 Super Off-Peak Return (Rte High Wycombe) [£30 with travelcard
Bold indicates a faster service - ~1h35m against ~2h0m

0815
0825, 0855, 0915
0955 onward

As for your return journey the Super Off-Peak (£25/£30) is valid from the 1915 out of Marylebone until the end of service.

 

[73101]

Thank you all

 

[SS4]

I'm not too hot on the travelcard part of things though namely whether an off-peak travelcard is valid in the afternoon peak

 

[island]

It's definitely valid within the London zones. From memory the £55 ticket has no afternoon peak restrictions, but I don't have time to check just now.

 

[TSR :D]

3. To make sure I get a seat and say, board a train starting at moor st, do you get allowed on early ?

Feel free to answer any question lol.

Thanks very much to anyone who can help

I commute on this part of journey. I can say that trains starting from BMO ALWAYS (With very few exceptions) leaves from Platform 4/3 unless the said train is starting from BSW (Or before it), then it will arrive at Platform 1 as it will have to go through the tunnel between BSW and BMO which only has 2 lines going through it, which is on Platform 1 and 2. And you won't have any chance to arrive early because the train will arrive and go without waiting.

If your train is starting from BMO, you can arrive early and the train will just sit there waiting till the departure. I recommend about 20-10 minutes early to guarantee a seat for yourself.

I also recommend you to sit at very front part of train as you won't have to walk far when terminating at Marylebone and it will be less busy than all other carriages.

 

[73101]

Thank you for all the responses....ive learnt alot.

Is the normal travelcard from Chiltern valid zones 1-6 as im probably going to Upminster in zone 6 ?

 

[island]

Yes, an off-peak day travelcard from Birmingham Stns (0418) to London Zones 1-6 (0035) is valid in zones 1-6 (as per the name). It costs £55 when routed VIA HIGH WYCOMBE. Valid to arrive at Marylebone at or after 1005, return by any train from Marylebone. The cheaper option is £30 for a super off-peak day travelcard, which is valid to arrive at London Terminals at or after 1130. It can be used within the zones all day, but the journey back to Birmingham can't be made on a train that is timed to depart London Terminals between 1600 and 1900 inclusive.

 

[tony_mac]

Do you know about the friends and family railcard?
If you used one, then you would have to buy a ticket for your child, but it will still save some money every time you use it. (Obviously, you need to travel reasonably often to make it worth £28 a year).

Also, if you have one then the £37.65 off-peak return will allow you to take any Virgin train from New St to Euston, regardless of the time. If you get the last peak-time train then it will probably be empty. (The 9:50 costs £150 return, the 10:10 costs £44, so I expect nobody will be on the 9:50!).