Destination Challenges - Edinburgh Airport.

[route:oxford]

I've mentioned this a few times before, but buying an integrated ticket to Edinburgh Airport (EDA) via tram is a challenge.

A colleague bought a ticket via the Scotrail website earlier this week to EDA. As has happened to me (and him) many times before the ticket machine only dispenses a ticket to Haymarket (HYM) or Edinburgh Park (EDP). Whilst it also only charges for a single to EDP/HYM - the printed journey itinerary clearly states the final destination of EDA via "Transfer".

On this occasion, fed up of the hopeless system, he just boarded the tram, he was asked to pay the full £10 walk-on fare, he refused.

The police were waiting for him at Edinburgh Airport. On presentation of evidence that he had bought a ticket to Edinburgh Airport and claiming that the machine had mis-dispensed - the Police lost interest.

Now, I know it's a total cock-up and Scotrail have repeatedly apologised and blamed IT issues

But what is the legal position here? I've been invited to treat myself to a ticket to EDA and had payment accepted, but a ticket short of final destination has been issued along with an itinerary showing correct final destination.

(Remembering it's Scotland and the law isn't the same as England!)

 

[Mathew S]

I'd suggest that as a matter of contract law, the Train Company would be obliged to issue you with a correct ticket if you brought out to their attention. Certainly not a criminal matter. Are their conductors on the Edinburgh trams? If so I'm surprised they didn't just accept it was a screw up and leave it at that, sounds like it's far from on unusual occurrence.
However, I know little about Scottish law, so well worth getting some kind of qualified advice if you're concerned.

 

[Edinburgh2000]

Is EDA (Edinburgh Airport) still a non-station as far as the rail system is concerned? I ask because I travel frequently via Edinburgh airport to London airports and want to use the rail ticket machine at Edinburgh airport to collect my rail tickets. I have time to spare at my departure airport after checking-in and want to collect my rail tickets then, rather than join the long queues of bewildered tourists at Gatwick. But when booking a ticket online, the system offers just about every other station in Great Britain for me to collect my ticket, except EDA. I have subsequently found that the machine at EDA will dispense my rail tickets, but it is still not listed on the system as being available for ticket collection. Surely there are many like me, travelling to another UK airport, who would want to use this facility at EDA if only the system indicated that they could?

So, any reason why the EDA ticket machine is invisible on the national rail systems?

 

[Romilly]

When booking tickets for collection at a ticket machine, it does not matter which station you specify for collection. The tickets will be available at all ticket machines that offer collection. The point of requiring you to specify a station is to make sure that you aren't planning to collect from a station with no collection facilities, although that clearly breaks down somewhat when the list isn't up to date.