Evening off-peak trains from Paddington to Reading

[JonathanH]

At £50 for a day trip for two, you're now stuck with a perhaps 90 minute journey using mostly TfL on the way home if you want to get back in the early evening.

I was under the impression that the GWR trains to Tilehurst off the Elizabeth Line connection at Reading are barred on some tickets as well - eg if the service from Paddington is barred there.

This is a bit ambiguous.

Not valid on the following departures from London Paddington (times shown in brackets are from Reading station):

 

[Benjwri]

I was under the impression that the GWR trains to Tilehurst off the Elizabeth Line connection at Reading are barred on some tickets as well - eg if the service from Paddington is barred there.

This is a bit ambiguous.

You’re correct it’s not valid on trains from Reading, unfortunately the wording of the restriction isn’t that unambiguous, it’s not valid on any of the trains listed, it doesn’t matter where from.

 

[Tw99]

Yes, that's another factor in making it too expensive/inconvenient. TBH in the past I've just risked it on the off peak ticket for Reading to Tilehurst..

 

[Benjwri]

Yes, that's another factor in making it too expensive/inconvenient.

I’ve not quoted the part in referring to, but I wouldn’t admit to that on a public forum that TOCs browse through, and would advise you to edit the part I didn’t quote out.

 

[Tw99]

I’ve not quoted the part in referring to, but I wouldn’t admit to that on a public forum that TOCs browse through, and would advise you to edit the part I didn’t quote out.

Thanks. But I'm quite comfortable with what I said.

 

[Haywain]

I wouldn’t admit to that on a public forum that TOCs browse through, and would advise you to edit the part I didn’t quote out.

I think you're overdoing the paranoia here; train companies already know that some people use tickets when they are barred by restrictions so are not gaining anything from this revelation. And I can't see them putting a revenue block in place to try and find @Tw99 doing this.

 

[NigelH]

So my trip to Canterbury was postponed and now I'm looking again at the ticket restrictions (for a different travel time). According to brfares.com, an off-peak return from Reading to Canterbury is not valid on (amongst many others) the 1902 from Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads; however, the "unpublished restrictions" on that same site only include (as the latest) departures from Paddington between 1857 and 1859 on GWR, and indeed the National Rail Enquiries website suggests a plan which involves taking that very train! Am I right to assume that my ticket will be valid on any journey shown on the NRE website, regardless of what the ticket restrictions may say? I suppose the real issue is which takes precedence: the list of specific trains (some of which have been retimed) or the unpublished restrictions that online journey planners use?

And given the "action short of a strike" next week, what is the position if the train that my ticket is valid on is cancelled or delayed - can I just take the next departure regardless of whether the ticket would normally have been valid on it, or would I have to wait?

 

[Gaelan]

So my trip to Canterbury was postponed and now I'm looking again at the ticket restrictions (for a different travel time). According to brfares.com, an off-peak return from Reading to Canterbury is not valid on (amongst many others) the 1902 from Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads; however, the "unpublished restrictions" on that same site only include (as the latest) departures from Paddington between 1857 and 1859 on GWR, and indeed the National Rail Enquiries website suggests a plan which involves taking that very train! Am I right to assume that my ticket will be valid on any journey shown on the NRE website, regardless of what the ticket restrictions may say? I suppose the real issue is which takes precedence: the list of specific trains (some of which have been retimed) or the unpublished restrictions that online journey planners use?

My understanding is that officially the unpublished restrictions have no power, except that you're always allowed to travel on the itinerary a journey planner provides alongside your ticket, even if it wouldn't otherwise be valid.

(Of course, you only get itinerary - so if there's multiple trains permitted under the unpublished restrictions but not the published ones, you can get a ticket valid on anything permitted by the published restrictions plus one route permitted but the unpublished restrictions.)