Enquiry for journey.

[CareyHullfc]

I am shortly to make a journey ,returning the same day, from Hull to Coventry. The start of my meeting at Coventry is not too early and i would not be having to rush back straight away. The question is what is the cheapest way to do this, or with a degree of flexibility. I do not have a railcard,do not mind change(s) the journey would be midweek with an arrival at 0930hrs approx.TIA

 

[yorkie]

Hull (HUL) - Coventry (COV)
Anytime Return (SOR) via Any Permitted route is £116.00 (ouch!)

Off Peak Return (SVR) via Any Permitted route is £62.90 but not valid until 0930!

For starters, a ticket to somewhere like Basingstoke (BSK), route Not London, is priced at £97.80 for an Off Peak ticket but this ticket is valid from 0500, so would get you to Coventry for 0930. You could then finish "short" at Coventry, and start "short" at Coventry on your return. So, with one ticket, you can save just under £20.

However it's probably better to split the journey into a combination of tickets. It is difficult for anyone to come up with a combination and say "this is the cheapest", all anyone can do is come up with a reasonable combination and see if anything obvious is better, and if not, go for it!

The usual places along the CrossCountry route are places like Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham, but it can vary.

Hull - Sheffield
Anytime Day Return (SDR) £22.50

Sheffield - Derby
Anytime Day Return (SDR) £17.20

Derby - Coventry
Anytime Day Return (SDR) £15.50

Total = £55.20 return

Saving around £61
(We should charge for this!! )

This was just a quick search, so may not be the best.

Note that the train must call at any station where you change from one ticket to the next (unless they are zonal tickets or you have a season ticket - this doesn't appear to apply here)

The railways penalise customers who do long journeys (unless they are really long, as with the Basingstoke example).

 

[richw]

For starters, a ticket to somewhere like Basingstoke (BSK), route Not London, is priced at £97.80 for an Off Peak ticket but this ticket is valid from 0500, so would get you to Coventry for 0930. You could then finish "short" at Coventry, and start "short" at Coventry on your return.

is stopping and starting short permitted? didnt realise could do that

 

[yorkie]

is stopping and starting short permitted? didnt realise could do that

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/misc/NRCOC.pdf

16. Starting, breaking or ending a journey at intermediate stations
You may start, or break and resume, a journey (in either direction in the case of a return
ticket) at any intermediate station, as long as the ticket you hold is valid for the trains you
want to use. You may also end your journey (in either direction in the case of a return
ticket) before the destination shown on the ticket. However, these rights may not apply to
some types of tickets for which a break of journey is prohibited, in which case the relevant
Train Companies will make this clear in their notices and other publications.
If you start, break and resume, or end your journey at an intermediate station
when you are not entitled to do so, you will be liable to pay an excess fare. This excess
fare will be the difference between the price paid for the ticket you hold and the price of
the lowest priced ticket(s) available for immediate travel that would have entitled you to
start, break and resume, or end your journey at that station on the service(s) you have
used.
A ticket which entitles you to travel on the London Underground and/or
Docklands Light Railway does not entitle you to break and resume your journey at any of
the stations on these networks unless it is a Season Ticket or a Travelcard.
For the purposes of this Condition and Condition 11, you will be treated as breaking your
journey if you leave a Train Company’s or Rail Service Company’s stations after you start
your journey other than:
(i) to join a train at another station, or
(ii) to stay in overnight accommodation when you cannot reasonably
complete your journey within one day, or
(iii) to follow any instructions given by a member of a Train Company’s staff.

Don't forget, going to JD Wetherspoon at Leeds, Coopers at York, walking from BHM to BMO, or getting LU from KGX to EUS, walking from Warrington Central to Bank Quay (and many more examples) are all not a break of journey anyway.

 

[John @ home]

is stopping and starting short permitted?

The rules on this are:

16. Starting, breaking or ending a journey at intermediate stations

You may start, or break and resume, a journey (in either direction in the case of a return ticket) at any intermediate station, as long as the ticket you hold is valid for the trains you want to use. You may also end your journey (in either direction in the case of a return ticket) before the destination shown on the ticket. However, these rights may not apply to some types of tickets for which a break of journey is prohibited, in which case the relevant Train Companies will make this clear in their notices and other publications.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/misc/NRCOC.pdf

So you need to check the restrictions for a particular ticket to see whether you may start, end, or break and resume that journey at an intermediate station.

For a Hull - Basingstoke route Not London Off-Peak Return (SVR), the restriction is 8X, the relevant parts of which are:

Outward and Return journeys, MONDAY to FRIDAY only.
No travel restrictions on other days.

By any train except those scheduled to depart before 0500.

Break of Jrny: (OUT) YES
(RTN) YES (SEE NOTES BELOW)

NOTES:
BREAK OF JOURNEY

Off-Peak Singles and the outward portion of Off-Peak Returns are valid for travel on the date shown on the ticket. Where a passenger wishes to stop overnight or the journey cannot be completed within one day, break of journey for an overnight stay is allowed. Where a journey continues into the next day, travel must resume before 1200 and any relevant time restrictions apply (except where regarded as an unbroken continuation of the previous day's travel where the first connection of the day may be taken). No further break of journey is allowed except for the purpose of changing trains. Please note that break of journey is not permitted on some journeys, as detailed in the ticket restrictions.

Return portions of Off-Peak Return tickets are valid for travel until 0230 on the day following the last day of validity (i.e. one calendar month from the outward journey). If a passenger is still travelling at 0230, they may stay on the train to complete that part of the journey but no further break of journey is allowed and all travel must be completed by 1200.