Issue with Trainoal booking for Luton Airport to Worcester

[SheikhYerboote]

Hi, I booked a train ticket on TrainPal a few days ago for Luton Airport Parkway to Worcester Shrub Hill, with changes at Kettering, Leicester and Birmingham New street for Friday 9th October.

I have completed this routing many times with no issues.

I just printed the tickets at the station on my way home from work tonight and the ticket shows Luton Airport parkway to Worcester foregate street/ shrub hill via Oxford Parkway Only, and has the correct booking ref and ticket number to what I booked online.

The routing for my booking on the app still shows via Kettering and Leicester etc.

There was no-one to speak too at nearly midnight at any stations, no one to call at Trainpal, only email which I doubt will be read in time, and I’m concerned I will be refused travel or fined on my EMR/Cross Country/West midlands trains routing.

The time restriction on the ticket is W4, if that’s relevant.

Any advice please?

 

[tumbledown]

Looking at

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

it looks like only the cheaper Via Oxford Pkwy fares have restriction W4, so that is probably what you have been sold. Comparing the undiscounted price of the ticket in your hand with those tables may help too.

Of course if you have a record of the itinerary output at the time of purchase you officially can follow it.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Not for the first time I question how TrainPal has passed accreditation with a basic failure like that, given the route doesn't go anywhere near Oxford Parkway.

 

[SheikhYerboote]

Thanks to those who commented, I went to the ticket office this evening, was told I would need to pay an upgrade of £40 to £50 depending on whether I chose the route I originally paid for (cross country then cancelled the Leicester to new street train) or went with GWR via Paddington.

With no guarantee I would be refunded the difference from train pal I ended up taking the long winded route via Marylebone and Oxford parkway, then GWR to shrub hill, which the paper ticket was showing as my only option.

Last time I use Trainpal.

 

[D1511]

Last time I use train pal.

With pals like that, you don't need enemies.
Best use the forum's site (powered by trainsplit) in future.
Great username BTW

 

[AlterEgo]

Hi, I booked a train ticket on TrainPal a few days ago for Luton airport parkway to Worcester shrub hill with changes at Kettering, Leicester and Birmingham new street for Friday 9th October. Have completed this routing many times with no issues.
Just printed the tickets at the station on my way home from work tonight and the ticket shows Luton airport parkway to Worcester foregate street/ shrub hill via Oxford Parkway Only and has the correct booking ref and ticket number to what I booked online. The routing for my booking on the app still shows via Kettering and Leicester etc.

No one to speak too at nearly midnight at any stations, no one to call at train pal only email which I doubt will be read in time and I’m concerned I will be refused travel or fined on my EMR/Cross Country/West midlands trains routing. The restriction on the ticket is a W4 if that’s relevant info.

Any advice please?

It would be good to see the booking confirmation and the tickets so see what's happened. That sounds like a very unusual sequence of events. (Do block out the booking reference and your name etc)

 

[SheikhYerboote]

It would be good to see the booking confirmation and the tickets so see what's happened. That sounds like a very unusual sequence of events. (Do block out the booking reference and your name etc)

As requested, I’ve never come across this before…

 

[AlterEgo]

How much did you pay Trainpal for the ticket? That is a bizarre routing for that ticket!

 

[SheikhYerboote]

How much did you pay Trainpal for the ticket? That is a bizarre routing for that ticket!

£38.64, a few pennies less than the price on the ticket.

 

[Crithylum]

As this ticket lacks a Maltese Cross, it is not intended to be valid via London. The only other valid route is MM + BP + CB, which goes nowhere near Oxford. Therefore, a journey planner must split at Oxford Parkway.* However, LTN to OXP is only valid via London. As this ticket does not have a Maltese Cross, it lacks underground availability. However, it may have availability via Farringdon on the Elizabeth line.

*assuming no London validity

My personal thoughts are that this is intended to be valid via East West rail, which was meant to open around 2 years ago, but the fare was added by accident.

 

[SheikhYerboote]

As this ticket lacks a Maltese Cross, it is not intended to be valid via London. The only other valid route is MM + BP + CB, which goes nowhere near Oxford. Therefore, a journey planner must split at Oxford Parkway.* However, LTN to OXP is only valid via London. As this ticket does not have a Maltese Cross, it lacks underground availability. However, it may have availability via Farringdon on the Elizabeth line.

*assuming no London validity

My personal thoughts are that this is intended to be valid via East West rail, which was meant to open close to 2 years ago, but the fare was added by accident.

Thanks very much for your reply, I can confirm I was stopped at every ticket barrier in St Pancras, Baker Street and Marleybone. Currently sat on the last leg of this journey GWR from Oxford to Worcester with a bemused train manager when I showed him my ticket and routing. I reckon your hypothesis could be right, never even crossed my mind that it could be a fare for that routing. I can’t wait for Bedford to Oxford to come into play would save my commute serious amount of time and money.

 

[thelongestroad]

Nothing useful to add but recognise your handle from FT.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Route "via Oxford Parkway" tickets from Luton Airport Parkway to/from Worcester Shrub Hill/Worcester Foregate Street, look to have been introduced with effect from 1st September 2026, but not so before. Seem to be the cheapest available walk-up tickets.

 

[Haywain]

Route "via Oxford Parkway" tickets from Luton Airport Parkway to/from Worcester Shrub Hill/Worcester Foregate Street, look to have been introduced with effect from 1st September 2026, but not so before. Seem to be the cheapest available walk-up tickets.

Clearly designed to be used on East West Rail when it eventually opens!

 

[redreni]

Thanks to those who commented, I went to the ticket office this evening, was told I would need to pay an upgrade of £40 to £50 depending on whether I chose the route I originally paid for (cross country then cancelled the Leicester to new street train) or went with GWR via Paddington. With no guarantee I would be refunded the difference from train pal I ended up taking the long winded route via Marleybone annd Oxford parkway then GWR to shrub hill which the paper ticket was showing as my only option.

Last time I use train pal.

That's absolutely terrible advice from the ticket office in my humble opinion. A ticket is always valid in accordance with the itinerary against which it was issued.

Thanks very much for your reply, I can confirm I was stopped at every ticket barrier in St Pancras, Baker Street and Marleybone. Currently sat on the last leg of this journey GWR from Oxford to Worcester with a bemused train manager when I showed him my ticket and routing. I reckon your hypothesis could be right, never even crossed my mind that it could be a fare for that routing. I can’t wait for Bedford to Oxford to come into play would save my commute serious amount of time and money.

I can see your logic and I can see why the staff allowed this routeing: there isn't really any other way to do this journey via Oxford Parkway until EWR opens.

In future I would agree you shouldn't use TrainPal again, and I would also suggest that if a retailer sells you a ticket with an itinerary that doesn't go via the via point printed on the ticket, you should pretend not to notice this and follow the itinerary. You can't be made to pay again when you're following the itinerary issued with your ticket (or, if you are erroneously made to pay again, it should be possible to get the money back), and you shouldn't have to accept a slower journey than the one you've been sold.

I would say complain to TrainPal, but in truth you might as well write your complaint on the wall of a disused public convenience for all the effect that would have. Just don't use them again.

You could always contact GTR and ask them why their ticket office clerk told you that you could not travel in accordance with an itinerary from a licensed retailer, pointing out that their terrible advice caused you significant inconvenience and delay. I believe they ought to pay delay repay in this situation based on the difference between your scheduled arrival time per your itinerary and your actual arrival time after travelling via Oxford Parkway, assuming the delay was 15 minutes or more. They are at fault for the delay because of their staff member's incorrect advice.

 

[800002]

Just out of curiosity, when looking at somewhere like BRFares, how does one know the routing is not valid via London?
Example being, it appesrs stations on the north Cotswolds line north of Oxford all appear to have an option to buy "Via Oxford Parkway".

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

Hanborough to Milton Keynes, for example.

Amd the original ticket purchased, here.

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

There are no immediate signs that either that its not valid:
Via London
For travel via London Underground

As all the fares are being set by GWR here I assume it could be their issue to resolve?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

There are no immediate signs that either that its not valid:
Via London
For travel via London Underground

The absence of a ✠ symbol is (usually) an indication that a ticket isn't meant for travel using London Underground's services.

 

[800002]

The absence of a ✠ symbol is (usually) an indication that a ticket isn't meant for travel using London Underground's services.

Of course - silly me. Thank you.
Just gone back and looked at a journey i havent done in a while and can indeed see the difference with the Maltese cross.
Apologies for the early morning confusion.

Should probably be raised to the GWR commercial team them, no doubt.

 

[yorkie]

The ticket office was wrong.

I agree with avoiding TranPal; they are extremely unprofessional and offer notoriously poor customer service.

My advice in future is to book using the forum's ticketing site and also if you need advice, check on this forum as soon as possible.

By all means ask a ticket office for advice, but don't trust the advice from a ticket office without checking it's correct on here first. This is because there have been many instances of ticket offices wrongly telling people things like 'you need to upgrade'; you didn't need to upgrade.

Where an error occurs and you are misrouted, and have an itinerary issued in conjunction with the ticket(s) you hold, you are entitled to take the exact trains shown on the itinerary. If any staff have a problem with that, they need to take it up with the issuer.

Sadly not all rail staff behave correctly and implement the correct policies; this is because there are insufficient safeguards in place within the rail industry.