Edinburgh - Keighley via Cumbrian coast

[dvalts]

Hello there,

I'd like to travel from Edinburgh to Keighley, but via the Cumbrian Coast line.
I can find this on the NRE website as an advance fare on the 23rd May, leaving Edinburgh at 0742. Price is £17.15 for an Advance (w/ 16-25 railcard). (I entered 'via Workington' to get it to route me via the coast)

When I click the link through from NRE to buy this from Transpennine express, there are 'no tickets available' for this journey. I've tried it with the Northern rail website, which offers a similar journey via Workington for £18.50 (and lets me buy, if I wish to)

When travelling with this ticket, am I likely to encounter any problems with ticket inspection, given that it will probably seem like I am taking an unnecessarily long way round? Does the '& connections' part of the advance ticket cover such a deviation from a more obviously direct route?

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[yorkie]

Welcome to the forum.

That's fine, just bring the itinerary in case it's queried.

It's a permitted route (on maps MM+FC), but regardless of permitted routes, an Advance ticket is valid on the booked train(s), plus appropriate trains, which includes any train(s) shown on the itinerary.

 

[bb21]

If it is an Advance ticket and you have your itinerary with you, there should not be any problem whatsoever. You are supposed to travel according to your itinerary.

(Certain exceptions apply I know but not really relevant here.)

 

[yorkie]

One of the most extreme examples of a 'deviation from a more obviously direct route' I've seen is Stoke to Liverpool, routed Virgin Trains Only. Not an easy journey to make exclusively on Virgin Trains. The mandatory reservation coupons were issued as follows: Stoke to London & London to Liverpool.

In that particular case, as it wasn't an & Connections ticket, it was only valid on those trains and not valid via a shorter route using other operators.

The Cumbrian coast deviation is nothing compared to that