Cambridge - Guildford

[gembercannelle]

I arrived to Cambridge at about 16:50 yesterday in hope to catch 16:59 to Tottenham hale and make it to Royal Albert hall for Proms, and then catch a late train to Guildford. The ticket I had was Cambridge - Tottenham Hale, super off peak single not via London; and Tottenham Hale - Guildford evening out single. Alas, upon arrival to the station I was met with a long line of cancellations. The services to Kings Cross recovered in about an hour, but nothing run to Liverpool Street till 19:25 (19:18, that was delayed). I eventually made it to Waterloo and caught 22:00.

My question: with the tickets I had, could I travel on a train that doesn't call at Tottenham hale at all? There was an advice for passengers who had tickets to Liverpool street to travel to St Pancras/Kings Cross, but I assume it didn't apply to me? With so many cancellations many of which were not properly announced, there were big crowds, so it was a bit difficult to get an advice. When I cleared the barriers, 17:17 was still showing as running, but then was cancelled. A member of station staff suggested to travel to Ipswich and then take a train from Ipswich to London, which didn't seem particularly quick way to get there... Taking into account the tickets I had, what would be a sensible thing to do?

 

[Watershed]

There is automatic cross-DfTO operator ticket acceptance in the event of a cancellation (note: this does not apply to delays or missed connections unfortunately).

The industry staff briefing states that any alternative route (which uses DfTO services) suggested by a journey planner is acceptable.

Indeed it suggests it would be permitted even if the journey planner doesn't return a fare because it's not normally a permitted route, although in this case Cambridge to Tottenham Hale via London obviously can be a permitted route with a "+via London" fare.

Depending on how bad the disruption is, going via Ipswich isn't necessarily a terrible alternative. It's slow for sure but most people probably wouldn't consider it as an option so it might be quieter.

 

[gembercannelle]

Here are a few screenshots to give an idea "how bad the disruption was":