Buying Advance tickets more than 12 weeks ahead

[HughT]

So earlier today I was looking to buy an Advance Single from Glasgow to Cambridge, for travel on 16 Nov. That's just over 12 weeks away, so I was interested to see what would happen.

The National Rail Journey Planner wouldn't give either times or fares for that date. Too far ahead. Reasonable enough.

LNER has "Early Bird" tickets available and would sell me a Glasgow-Peterborough or Stevenage single, but not one right through to Cambridge. This is an "LNER booked train only + connections", so it seems as though they can include the SR trip from Glasgow to Edinburgh, but not any CC/GN/TL journey from PBO/SVG to CBG. Just says that tickets are not on sale yet for my journey.

Raileasy sells the whole package, from GLQ through to CBG. Using the same SR and LNER services that LNER themselves offered, but including the "missing" final section. So tickets clearly *are* on sale.

My one query generated three quite different responses. Frustrating to say the least!

And yes, Raileasy got my business

 

[Romilly]

There is a known problem with the LNER website not offering tickets where legs of a journey are on reservable trains but for some reason reservations are not available for the tickets wanted. Although this does not explain why they are not offering tickets for journeys via Stevenage given that the Great Northern trains from Stevenage to Cambridge are not reservable. In contrast, I could find £31 through Advances on the C2C mixing deck.

 

[Wallsendmag]

There is a known problem with the LNER website not offering tickets where legs of a journey are on reservable trains but for some reason reservations are not available for the tickets wanted. Although this does not explain why they are not offering tickets for journeys via Stevenage given that the Great Northern trains from Stevenage to Cambridge are not reservable. In contrast, I could find £31 through Advances on the C2C mixing deck.

It’s not a problem, we know when our trains are altered more than 12 weeks out so we can notify customers of any changes, we don’t get the same auto notification for other TOCS.

 

[HughT]

What Wallsendmag says makes perfect sense if LNER were only selling tickets just for their own services - so, in my case, just from EDB (plus the one daily departure from GLC, if that still runs). But that's not the case - they're happy enough to sell tickets that include travel on ScotRail, but not those that involve XC, GA, GN or TL. Why that distinction?

Booking via LNER more than 12 weeks ahead comes with the appropriate warning about services being subject to change. I've no problem with that. But again that doesn't explain why they think it "safe" to include SR connections, but not those of other operators.

 

[Wallsendmag]

The set up is by location pairs and TOC, SR shouldn't be showing, I'll take a look. We are looking at changing this though.

 

[HughT]

Thanks for clarifying. And for taking the time to share your knowledge and expertise. Much appreciated.