HS1 upgrades

[crazyjimmy]

Just out of interest...

I have a Chatham to London Terminals gold card - although my commute is generally Rochester to London. When use HS1 to either Stratford or St Pancras I will generally get an upgrade from the TVM at Rochester - clearly this will show an origin of Rochester not Chatham. 99% of the time this is accepted without question however I have been told by barrier staff that I need to have the same origin on both tickets, and one on board manager insists on doing a zero fare excess so that the tickets match.

Surely as long as a passenger is "upgraded" between Gravesend and Stratford/St Pancras then they are covered?

Thanks!

 

[yorkie]

Barrier staff where?

And as a Season is valid for intermediate journeys, how do the barrier staff know exactly what journey you are making anyway? I also don't see how it matters as the upgrade is only applicable for the section of route covered by HS1.

 

[crazyjimmy]

This is my thinking - that the upgrade ticket need only be for the "high speed" section of the route. The barrier staff mentioned are at Stratford International (the barriers seem programmed to reject upgrade tickets, presumably so that both the original ticket and upgrade can be checked).

I really can't see why the OBM would go to the effort of excessing a Rochester to St Pancras plus HS upgrade to be Chatham to St Pancras plus HS upgrade instead at zero cost when the validity is essentially identical. I was just wondering if there was a reason that I wasn't aware of.

Thanks

Jimmy

 

[sheff1]

I really can't see why the OBM would go to the effort of excessing a Rochester to St Pancras plus HS upgrade to be Chatham to St Pancras plus HS upgrade instead at zero cost when the validity is essentially identical. I was just wondering if there was a reason that I wasn't aware of.

The SET website http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/tickets-and-fares/ticket-types/157/ states that the stations on the HS supplement ticket must match the stations on the original ticket.

Now we know that SET's views on ticketing requirements do not always match the actualité, but it seems to me that the OBM is aware of that statement and is helpfully seeking to prevent any problem for you down the line.

 

[craigwilson]

And what this (effectively) means is that you'd have to buy the upgrade from a ticket office or on-train from the OBM, yes? You couldn't use a TVM as Southeastern machines don't allow you to alter the origin station.

As yorkie says, it shouldn't really matter though, to my mind.