Hello,
Two family members are looking to travel from Highbridge & Burnham (HIG) to Cardiff Central (CDF) and back on 10 May 2025. Both hold Disabled Person's Railcards; one requires a wheelchair space and the other will need to sit next to/near them to accompany the wheelchair user (this person would be unable to stand for a trip of this length). Their preferred train on the outbound journey is the 09:34 from HIG to CDF (arrive 11:19), and their preferred train on the return journey is the 18:58 from CDF to HIG (arrive 20:35).
However, when I try to book the tickets via the National Rail Enquiries website, it tells me 'We have been unable to find a valid fare. Please re-plan your journey.' Using the GWR website on my laptop, it tells me 'This service has already departed' for all trains. However, using the GWR website on my phone brings me up a fare of £115.10 for both of them (2 x Anytime Day Single (1st Class) with Disabled Person's Railcard for outbound leg, 2 x Anytime Day Single (Standard Class) with Disabled Person's Railcard for return leg) - this also indicates that reservations are compulsory on the outbound leg, which is presumably why the Anytime Return (Standard Class) does not appear to be available for this journey.
I was a bit confused by this, so decided to speak to a member of staff at a GWR ticket office. They did not seem to know why I was having difficulty purchasing Anytime Returns, but they seemed to be unable to make reservations on any trains (outbound or return) on that date. They suggested that the Anytime Return (Standard Class) should be valid for that journey, which would bring the cost down to £53.10 for the pair of them, and that I could then ring Passenger Assist to arrange for them to have a wheelchair space and adjacent seat. However, I was reluctant to take their word for it, given that they did not appear to have any knowledge of the situation which was causing these difficulties (both for myself and for them).
My guess is that, given that Bristol are playing Bath at the Principality Stadium (formerly the Millennium Stadium) in Cardiff (very close to CDF station) on that date, GWR have decided to make reservations compulsory on certain trains, to reduce the risk of unsafe levels of crowding on these trains. Is anyone able to confirm this, and if so, advise of the best course of action? Essentially I would like to know whether I should:
Two family members are looking to travel from Highbridge & Burnham (HIG) to Cardiff Central (CDF) and back on 10 May 2025. Both hold Disabled Person's Railcards; one requires a wheelchair space and the other will need to sit next to/near them to accompany the wheelchair user (this person would be unable to stand for a trip of this length). Their preferred train on the outbound journey is the 09:34 from HIG to CDF (arrive 11:19), and their preferred train on the return journey is the 18:58 from CDF to HIG (arrive 20:35).
However, when I try to book the tickets via the National Rail Enquiries website, it tells me 'We have been unable to find a valid fare. Please re-plan your journey.' Using the GWR website on my laptop, it tells me 'This service has already departed' for all trains. However, using the GWR website on my phone brings me up a fare of £115.10 for both of them (2 x Anytime Day Single (1st Class) with Disabled Person's Railcard for outbound leg, 2 x Anytime Day Single (Standard Class) with Disabled Person's Railcard for return leg) - this also indicates that reservations are compulsory on the outbound leg, which is presumably why the Anytime Return (Standard Class) does not appear to be available for this journey.
I was a bit confused by this, so decided to speak to a member of staff at a GWR ticket office. They did not seem to know why I was having difficulty purchasing Anytime Returns, but they seemed to be unable to make reservations on any trains (outbound or return) on that date. They suggested that the Anytime Return (Standard Class) should be valid for that journey, which would bring the cost down to £53.10 for the pair of them, and that I could then ring Passenger Assist to arrange for them to have a wheelchair space and adjacent seat. However, I was reluctant to take their word for it, given that they did not appear to have any knowledge of the situation which was causing these difficulties (both for myself and for them).
My guess is that, given that Bristol are playing Bath at the Principality Stadium (formerly the Millennium Stadium) in Cardiff (very close to CDF station) on that date, GWR have decided to make reservations compulsory on certain trains, to reduce the risk of unsafe levels of crowding on these trains. Is anyone able to confirm this, and if so, advise of the best course of action? Essentially I would like to know whether I should:
- Buy Anytime Returns for both of them (which I could do by selecting an earlier departure, e.g. the 08:37), as suggested by the member of staff at the ticket office
- Buy Anytime Singles (First Class) for the outbound leg and Anytime Singles (Standard Class) for the return leg, as suggested by the GWR website on my phone
- Buy some other combination of tickets
