Incorrect advice on ticket retailer's website?

[redreni]

I've just bought a Network Railcard and am trying to work out the cheapest fare for the following journey which I make regularly on Saturdays:

• Slade Green to Maidenhead (day return).

Frustratingly the fares for this journey appear to be more expensive than for the same journey in the opposite direction.

A MAI to Z1-6 off-peak Travelcard with a Network Railcard is £12.70 but it's my understanding that wouldn't be valid for the journey I am making because I would be using the outbound and return portions of the MAI to Boundary Zone 6 element of the ticket in the wrong order, which is not allowed.

The next cheapest option suggested by ticket splitting websites is a Z1-6 off peak Travelcard in combination with an off-peak day return from West Drayton to MAI, which comes in at £13.90.

My question concerns the "important information" that the ticket splitting websites all show when recommending this combination of tickets, namely that "Your trains must stop at these stations: West Drayton, If you use a train that goes through any of them without stopping, or you don't go through them at all, your tickets won't be valid and you will have to pay again. You don't have to get off the train at these stations unless you need to change trains."

That doesn't seem right to me but I wanted to check with an expert? I thought the rail industry had reluctantly accepted that daily zonal tickets (including day Travelcards) can be used in combination with point-to-point single or return tickets and the train doesn't have to stop at the station where you switch between the two tickets?

I would like the added flexibility of a Z1-6 travelcard rather than a through ticket from SGR to MAI, as I may sometimes want to go places in London that aren't directly on my way, but I don't want the "must stop at West Drayton" restriction.

 

[MikeWh]

If you instead buy a boundary of zone 6 to Maidenhead day return you do not need to worry about stopping at West Drayton. With the railcard it's the same price £4.40. You can't buy it online, but the ticket office at Slade Green, or a main station in London, will be able to sell it.

 

[Watershed]

I've just bought a Network Railcard and am trying to work out the cheapest fare for the following journey which I make regularly on Saturdays:

• Slade Green to Maidenhead (day return).

Frustratingly the fares for this journey appear to be more expensive than for the same journey in the opposite direction.

A MAI to Z1-6 off-peak Travelcard with a Network Railcard is £12.70 but it's my understanding that wouldn't be valid for the journey I am making because I would be using the outbound and return portions of the MAI to Boundary Zone 6 element of the ticket in the wrong order, which is not allowed.

The next cheapest option suggested by ticket splitting websites is a Z1-6 off peak Travelcard in combination with an off-peak day return from West Drayton to MAI, which comes in at £13.90.

My question concerns the "important information" that the ticket splitting websites all show when recommending this combination of tickets, namely that "Your trains must stop at these stations: West Drayton, If you use a train that goes through any of them without stopping, or you don't go through them at all, your tickets won't be valid and you will have to pay again. You don't have to get off the train at these stations unless you need to change trains."

That doesn't seem right to me but I wanted to check with an expert? I thought the rail industry had reluctantly accepted that daily zonal tickets (including day Travelcards) can be used in combination with point-to-point single or return tickets and the train doesn't have to stop at the station where you switch between the two tickets?

I would like the added flexibility of a Z1-6 travelcard rather than a through ticket from SGR to MAI, as I may sometimes want to go places in London that aren't directly on my way, but I don't want the "must stop at West Drayton" restriction.

Split ticketing sites generally aren't set up to recognise that certain splits - such as a Travelcard + point to point ticket as here - don't require you to stop at the split point. So whilst in this particular instance the advice is indeed wrong, it's a "right side failure".

You can buy your ticket from either West Drayton or Boundary Zone 6 to Maidenhead and it will then be valid regardless of which train you take to Maidenhead and whether it stops en-route. You could also take an Oxford/Worcester/Hereford train to Slough and change there.

 

[plugwash]

My question concerns the "important information" that the ticket splitting websites all show when recommending this combination of tickets, namely that "Your trains must stop at these stations: West Drayton, If you use a train that goes through any of them without stopping, or you don't go through them at all, your tickets won't be valid and you will have to pay again. You don't have to get off the train at these stations unless you need to change trains."

That doesn't seem right to me but I wanted to check with an expert? I thought the rail industry had reluctantly accepted that daily zonal tickets (including day Travelcards) can be used in combination with point-to-point single or return tickets and the train doesn't have to stop at the station where you switch between the two tickets?

I'm pretty sure the operators of the splitting sites have just failed to take account of the fact that one of the tickets is a travelcard.

The NRCOT clearly states

Unless Condition 14.1 applies, if you are using a Season Ticket, daily Zonal Ticket, or
another area based Ticket such as a concessionary pass, ranger, or rover, in
conjunction with another Ticket and the last station at which one Ticket is valid and the
first station that the other Ticket is valid are the same, then the train does not need to
Call at that station for your combination to be valid.

 

[redreni]

Thanks, that's what I normally do (fast to Slough, then change). That's why I wanted to make sure I don't have to use a train that stops at West Drayton.

Good to know I don't necessarily need a Boundary Zone ticket. I'd happily buy one from the Slade Green ticket office if it was ever open during it's published opening hours, but it rarely is, and there's often a long queue at Paddington. Better for me to buy the tickets online.