Disruption en-route to Isle of Wight

[Belperpete]

On Friday afternoon I got caught up in the disruption to services out of Waterloo. I was on the 1730 Waterloo to Portsmouth train, which should have got me to Portsmouth & Southsea at 1905, to catch the 1910 bus for the 1930 hovercraft.

If I missed that, the journey planner showed the last connection as a bus at 1940 for the last hovercraft at 2030, or a ferry from Portsmouth Harbour at 2020. We eventually left 20 late, got further delayed en-route by loss of power, and then ground to a halt just after Fratton apparently in a queue of trains all waiting to get into Portsmouth. We finally got into Portsmouth and Southsea at about 2005.

With a queue of trains ahead, I wasn't sure that if I stayed on that we would make it to Portsmouth Harbour in time for the 2020 ferry, so I got off and caught a taxi to the hovercraft terminal and managed to catch the last hovercraft.

But it did leave me thinking, what help and assistance would I have been entitled to had I missed the last hovercraft? Would SWR have put me in a hotel for the night? Presumably I would have had to make my way back from the Hoverport to the station to get assistance?

What help and assistance would I have been entitled to had I stayed on the train (seeing as I had officially missed the last hovercraft connection) and then missed the ferry too? They didn't hold the last hovercraft for its train connections, do they hold the ferries? Would my ticket to Ryde Hoverport have been valid on the ferry?

 

[Watershed]

The railway's position in the NRCoT effectively seems to be that for through tickets involving other operators, their responsibility ends when you have reached the rail interchange and any subsequent issues are for the other transport provider. Of course that leaves a big gap when the situation is missing the last onward service of the day.

Personally speaking I suspect that these conditions (35.3.2 and 35.3.3) could be held as unfair terms if challenged under the Consumer Rights Act. The fact that you are paying one all-inclusive price (with no stated breakdown) and receive one ticket rather than two, very much indicates to me that you have a single contract for travel between the stated origin and destination locations. The train companies can't then pretend that it's really two contracts under the hood and render your right to actually travel to your destination conditional on (essentially) good luck.

Different parts of the journey might be subject to specific terms and conditions (i.e. the NRCoT for the rail portion and the other operator's conditions for the other portion), but that doesn't mean that the railway can wash its hands of responsibility to get you to your final destination.

I would draw analogy to a connecting airline booking, where it's a trite point that you have a single contract to your final destination even if there are different terms for each airline involved, and where the airline 'at fault' for a missed connection must make arrangements. I don't see how a thorough ticket to the Isle of Wight is any different really.

I would contact SWR's customer services to put in a claim for the taxi and see what they say. I'd expect them to rebuff you citing the above (or possibly just some waffle) but I'll be pleasantly surprised if they pay up.

 

[Haywain]

But it did leave me thinking, what help and assistance would I have been entitled to had I missed the last hovercraft? Would SWR have put me in a hotel for the night? Presumably I would have had to make my way back from the Hoverport to the station to get assistance?

They would almost certainly make arrangements for you to be on the next ferry, which would be far cheaper than a hotel.

 

[DelW]

But it did leave me thinking, what help and assistance would I have been entitled to had I missed the last hovercraft? Would SWR have put me in a hotel for the night? Presumably I would have had to make my way back from the Hoverport to the station to get assistance?

What help and assistance would I have been entitled to had I stayed on the train (seeing as I had officially missed the last hovercraft connection) and then missed the ferry too? They didn't hold the last hovercraft for its train connections, do they hold the ferries? Would my ticket to Ryde Hoverport have been valid on the ferry?

There would (or at least should) have been two more ferries available (21:45 and 22:45). Whether Wightlink would have accepted a via Hovertravel ticket (in view of the rail disruption) is a moot point. I have in the past found that both operators can be helpful in the event of problems on the other, but I don't think there's any right to switch. Wightlink ticket checkers often only give a quick glance at CCST, but now that they have gates with scanners, a barcode ticket via Hovertravel would likely be rejected.

 

[Belperpete]

I would contact SWR's customer services to put in a claim for the taxi and see what they say

I was more concerned about catching the hovercraft than getting a receipt for the taxi. Some taxi drivers can make issuing a receipt a right faff, by the time they have found their receipt book, and then a pen.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Aug 2026 ==

The railway's position in the NRCoT effectively seems to be that for through tickets involving other operators, their responsibility ends when you have reached the rail interchange and any subsequent issues are for the other transport provider. Of course that leaves a big gap when the situation is missing the last onward service of the day.

Would the situation be any different for someone who held a ticket that included onward rail travel from Ryde? Would the situation be similar to a cross London ticket that includes the underground?

I was wondering if a ticket to say Ryde St Johns would give more definitive rights?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Aug 2026 ==

There would (or at least should) have been two more ferries available (21:45 and 22:45). Whether Wightlink would have accepted a via Hovertravel ticket (in view of the rail disruption) is a moot point. I have in the past found that both operators can be helpful in the event of problems on the other, but I don't think there's any right to switch. Wightlink ticket checkers often only give a quick glance at CCST, but now that they have gates with scanners, a barcode ticket via Hovertravel would likely be rejected.

Hovertravel use handheld scanners. I am not sure if they scan National Rail tickets (as my ticket was CCST without a barcode), or just their own tickets.

Because holding a through rail ticket does not mean that you have a right to travel on a particular hovercraft. To be guaranteed a place on a particular sailing, you also need to book a separate hovertravel ticket at least 48 hours in advance (it is free if you hold a through rail ticket). Does the same thing apply with the ferries?

 

[DelW]

Because holding a through rail ticket does not mean that you have a right to travel on a particular hovercraft. To be guaranteed a place on a particular sailing, you also need to book a separate hovertravel ticket at least 48 hours in advance (it is free if you hold a through rail ticket). Does the same thing apply with the ferries?

I've travelled on the Ryde route many times on through rail tickets, and I've never yet made a booking for a specific sailing, nor have I ever been unable to board the first available boat, even on a bank holiday weekend.

The nearest equivalent was a couple of years ago, when both Wight Ryders were out of service, and a smaller local trip boat was deputising. We were okay on the outbound, though it was pretty full, but the last return sailing was at around 6pm as the substitute boat had other work in the evening. That was too early for us, so we (and quite a few others) had to get to Wootton Creek for the car ferry. That was their biggest boat (Victoria of Wight) which has huge passenger capacity (1170, or about four Fastcats' worth even allowing for car occupants). The two older ferries on the route carry 878 and 722 passengers.

 

[Watershed]

I was more concerned about catching the hovercraft than getting a receipt for the taxi. Some taxi drivers can make issuing a receipt a right faff, by the time they have found their receipt book, and then a pen.

Understandable. Unfortunately I think that will probably fatally undermine a claim for the taxi, especially if you paid in cash. Have you considered using an app (e.g. Uber) in future for such journeys? At least that way you have a receipt automatically.

Would the situation be any different for someone who held a ticket that included onward rail travel from Ryde? Would the situation be similar to a cross London ticket that includes the underground?

I was wondering if a ticket to say Ryde St Johns would give more definitive rights?

I think those examples show why the claim that the rail industry isn't liable for other transport providers doesn't really hold up. A contract for travel is ultimately intended to get you to your final destination, so the railway remains (jointly) liable for getting you to there even if other transport providers are also involved.

Therefore I don't think that having a ticket to Ryde St Johns Road necessarily has any stronger legal protections than a ticket to Ryde Hoverport. But in practical terms frontline rail staff might be a little more willing to help, which probably matters just as much if you want to avoid protracted disputes.

 

[gray1404]

At the very least then I would pursue Southwestern Railway for delay repay for the delay to your journey.

 

[Belperpete]

Understandable. Unfortunately I think that will probably fatally undermine a claim for the taxi, especially if you paid in cash. Have you considered using an app (e.g. Uber) in future for such journeys? At least that way you have a receipt automatically.

I live in a part of the country where Uber don't operate, so I have to admit that they aren't generally upfront in my thinking. Using an app to book a taxi would have involved pre-planning, and this was very much a spur of the moment decision.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Aug 2026 ==

At the very least then I would pursue Southwestern Railway for delay repay for the delay to your journey.

I will be pursuing delay repay, but not with SWR as they were only the last in a succession of TOCs that had delayed me.