Belfast Anytime Day Single Query

[embers25]

I realise these are pretty basic questions but I just want to make sure I am reading things correctly.

If I have an Anytime Day Single from Belfast to Exeter (bizarrely it is a day single not an open single despite the only return being an SOR!) how long do I have to complete my journey, as I plan to leave Belfast in the afternoon so can't possibly reach Exeter the same day.
My understanding is that it really is only valid till 0230 with the only relaxation being that I can continue on the same train till midday making my trip not possible. Is there not an exception for Northern Ireland tickets or even Dublin tickets as Avantix seems to suggest not?

Also Belfast tickets seem to alow break of journey unlike the Dublin ones. Is that correct?

Does anyone know if the ticket can be bought in Northern Ireland and where, or do I have to buy it from the mainland?

Finally with these tickets does the routing guid apply from Straraer/Holyhead/Fishguard as appropriate or must you go shortest route (I always assumed routing guide applied)

Thanks in advance!

 

[yorkie]

You have to resume your journey by 1200 the next day.

Yes, BOJ is allowed on an Anytime/Anytime Day.

I don't know if you can get them in NI, so I'd get them online (Rail & Sail website) or in the UK before you go.

So, if you arrived in Glasgow at, say, around 11pm and no train was available heading South, then you'd definitely be valid on the 1140 Euston and 1150 King's Cross, but I am not sure if the 1200 Birmingham is valid, as it depends on whether 1200 is before or after the cut-off. So I'd get a train before the 1200 just to be sure. Of course, that's if you stayed at Glasgow. You could stay overnight anywhere. I do not believe you are compelled to stay at any particular point.

Although, providing it's not on a Saturday then even the sleeper is an option, changing at Crewe or London.

As the ticket is routed Stranraer Stena then there is nothing limiting you to any of the routes between Stranraer and Exeter so the ticket must therefore be valid via any of the permitted routes between Stranraer and Exeter including via London, however the lack of '+' means that if you go via London and used the tube you'd end up with an argument with insufficiently trained LU staff.

I've never had a problem using such a ticket on the ECML. A Cross Country guard once commented that we were going a long way round in Summer 2008 but I think he knew we wanted a Valenta!

I was surprised at how short the ferry turnaround times were, I do wonder if they are sometimes late as a result.

According to my satnav, the terminal buildings at Belfast are on the sea, so I think it's reclaimed land or something. It's all brand new anyway.

Make sure you sample the Thumpers over there! They are hellfire!

 

[Sealink]

You can get them in Northern Ireland from most staffed stations, I think even on board staff can issue them

 

[radamfi]

You can get them in Northern Ireland from most staffed stations, I think even on board staff can issue them

From what I remember, ticket staff in N Ireland issue tickets using Wayfarer (bus) ticket machines. So would a ticket to England be issued on one of these?

 

[jamesontheroad]

No, you cannot buy National Rail tickets from on-board staff or stations. The NI Railways Travel Agency at Belfast Great Victoria Street (and perhaps also Belfast Central, I don't know for sure about that one) can issue them. I believe they levy a ~ £1 fee on National Rail tickets, but can sell pretty much anything, railcard discounts etc.

If buying in Belfast, I'd ask about routing options. Do all tickets originating in NI have to go via Stranraer? Could you not travel via Dublin and Holyhead (noting of course, that the Malahide Viaduct is still being repaired and you'd have some bustitution into Dublin).

 

[CarDriver]

Can you still buy the rail-sail tickets at the ferry terminal?

ISTR Stena used to sell them at Dun Laoghaire.

 

[John @ home]

If buying in Belfast, I'd ask about routing options. Do all tickets originating in NI have to go via Stranraer? Could you not travel via Dublin and Holyhead

If you travel via Dublin then it becomes an international journey and under the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF), the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for International Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Rail (CIV Rules) apply. CIV gives some very useful protection to passengers (see here) but generally doesn't allow break of journey, which was specifically mentioned by the OP.

John

 

[yorkie]

I believe you can get a ticket routed via Holyhead, it is priced as a Dublin to wherever plus an add-on from your origin station e.g. Belfast, to Dublin. It's all priced zonally, as with the Belfast tickets. It will not allow BOJ other than where the journey has to be broken overnight (which in that case it will be, unless you get the night boat)