Is this a "permitted" route?

[6Gman]

I've found a weird fare on the National Rail website and just wondering if it's valid?

Won't name the places involved (don't want them shutting a loophole!) but will use different placenames to establish the principle.

Let's say I want to travel from Bath to Chippenham. Cheapest fare is £x.

On the National Rail website I enquire for Yate to Swindon but use the via field to specify "via Bath" - it offers me an itinerary which is lengthy, but comes out at less than £x.

Can I use the Yate-Swindon ticket, but starting from Bath, and alighting at Chippenham, since it is a route shown on the National Rail website?

 

[yorkie]

Can you get an itinerary from a booking engine? That would be stronger evidence of a contract.

 

[Romilly]

It depends on the terms & conditions of the cheaper ticket for the longer route, in particular whether break of journey is allowed. If the cheaper ticket is an Advance, it is not valid for Bath-Chippenham. If the cheaper ticket is an Anytime ticket it will be. If the cheaper ticket is an offpeak ticket it will depend on the restrictions for the ticket.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I've found a weird fare on the National Rail website and just wondering if it's valid?

Won't name the places involved (don't want them shutting a loophole!) but will use different placenames to establish the principle.

Let's say I want to travel from Bath to Chippenham. Cheapest fare is £x.

On the National Rail website I enquire for Yate to Swindon but use the via field to specify "via Bath" - it offers me an itinerary which is lengthy, but comes out at less than £x.

Can I use the Yate-Swindon ticket, but starting from Bath, and alighting at Chippenham, since it is a route shown on the National Rail website?

Without knowing the exact fare you are after it is difficult to say for certain. As yorkie notes, a good indication is if you can get NRES to show it as a valid route, but be aware that NRES has a liability disclaimer for errors.

Have you checked the Routeing Guide on ATOC's website? This might help you decide if it is really a valid route. And don't forget to check your intended ticket for restrictions on Break of Journey.

 

[6Gman]

Can you get an itinerary from a booking engine? That would be stronger evidence of a contract.

The National Rail Journey Planner offers it as an option. Is that sufficient?

 

[yorkie]

NRE says

"When you book your journey online, any ticket offered in connection with the timetable or itinerary produced by the journey planner will be accepted as a permitted route"

and, not only that, it's clear indisputable evidence of a contract. Contract law and consumer law would very much be on your side. People have done journeys such as Tadworth to Stonebridge Park via Glasgow or the S&C on that basis.

But NRE does also say

" we would therefore encourage you to check any intended route using our Journey Planner to validate that it can be used with your ticket."

so you could argue that, having done such a check, yo should be confident the route has been validated.

I am not saying the latter is or isn't sufficient, but I do not know if a Train Company would want such a case tested in court or not, and if they did, I do not know what judgement might be made.

You'd have a good case in my opinion, but not as watertight as an itinerary shown on the booking confirmation.