Midnight madness (to peak or not to peak)

[nova]

Hello everybody, new member here!

My flight to Gatwick (South) from EU is scheduled to arrive an hour before midnight. The performance statistics from flightstats.com show that the vast majority of flights arrive on time or five minutes early. The longest delay was thirty minutes. I travel with cabin baggage only, therefore I just need to get out of the plane, show my passport and off I go to the train station just below the terminal.

I saw that Southern has good offers online and given that I'm not in a hurry, I see no reason to take Gatwick Express to Victoria. But if the flight is delayed, I might not be able to catch the 23:53 train and the next one departs about an hour later. That means the date will change and here comes the tricky part.

The best offer I see now is for an off-peak day single. If I book online, I should specify the date of the travel. With the worst case scenario, I might not be able to collect my ticket during that day (Friday), but minutes after midnight (Saturday).

I couldn't find any solid information about it on Southern's site. They don't mention anything about off-peak day singles in the special offer terms and nothing relevant is to be found in their off-peak page.

Next stop, National Rail. They do mention that "Off-Peak Day and Super Off-Peak Day tickets are valid for travel on the date shown on your ticket and until 0230 on the following day". However I'm not sure if a) this is also the case with Southern's special offer and b) if I can collect the ticket between midnight and before 02:30 am (X+1), if the booking was made for the previous date (X).

Thank you in advance for any help and please don't bite the newbie (and his English)!

 

[yorkie]

Don't worry; buy the ticket for the date at 2300. It does not matter when you collect your ticket (I collected a ticket over week late once, I didn't use it). It is valid as long as you depart by 0230, and remains valid for the duration of your journey even after that time.

If your flight arrives so late that you have to leave after 0230 then, if you explain the situation you may find you are allowed to travel anyway or they may even re-date the ticket for you.

It is absolute madness that a ticket bought for travel at, say, 0100 counts as peak time, but it really is true. Buying a ticket at 2300 that is still valid at 0100 gets you the same journey at an off-peak rate. Welcome to the ludicrous world of UK rail ticketing!

BTW, your English is fine! and, if you don't mind me asking, where are you going after Victoria or are you staying nearby? We can advise on any further travel plans you have. For example if you are doing a lot of travelling in the London area you may find an Oyster PAYG (Pay as you go) card useful.

 

[nova]

Don't worry; buy the ticket for the date at 2300. It does not matter when you collect your ticket (I collected a ticket over week late once, I didn't use it). It is valid as long as you depart by 0230, and remains valid for the duration of your journey even after that time.

If your flight arrives so late that you have to leave after 0230 then, if you explain the situation you may find you are allowed to travel anyway or they may even re-date the ticket for you.

It is absolute madness that a ticket bought for travel at, say, 0100 counts as peak time, but it really is true. Buying a ticket at 2300 that is still valid at 0100 gets you the same journey at an off-peak rate. Welcome to the ludicrous world of UK rail ticketing!

BTW, your English is fine! and, if you don't mind me asking, where are you going after Victoria or are you staying nearby? We can advise on any further travel plans you have. For example if you are doing a lot of travelling in the London area you may find an Oyster PAYG (Pay as you go) card useful.

Thank you for your prompt reply. Now, it would be nice to have these information on Southern's site, instead of Mexican wrestlers!

I don't think that I'll arrive that late, since the flight statistics are good. Quite possibly on time, maybe half an hour later at most. In any case, I might still be able to catch the 23:53.

As for UK rail ticketing, a few years ago I rescheduled a flight and subsequently asked a train company to refund my ticket, three weeks in advance. They were eager to help me, given that the ticket cost was £7 and their fees were £10. :roll:

I've been in London many times and I know my way around for local travel, but thank you for offering to help. I'm not that familiar with rail services though, because I've been using Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express (clickety-click, pay, SMS e-ticket, done). I feel quite stupid for doing that, because if you're not in a hurry, it's not worth it. Ten minutes of your time and ten pounds in the pocket for a worthy purpose.

 

[mathmo]

The flight may be on time but don't count against having to queue for ages at Passport Control! I recently landed at Heathrow 15 minutes early (shock horror!) but had to queue for at least 20 minutes to get my passport checked, and I've done the same elsewhere too. But what yorkie says is correct - buy a ticket for the day before and you'll be fine. You could buy it on the day for the same price but I'd book in advance as it can be tricky to get a ticket for the previous day if you're that bit late!

 

[yorkie]

You could buy it on the day for the same price but I'd book in advance as it can be tricky to get a ticket for the previous day if you're that bit late!

Apart from the Southern half price offer, yes you could, but if you got there just 1 minute past midnight the machines may (and probably will!) charge the peak time fare (assuming this is not a Saturday or Sunday), so if you cannot guarantee getting to the machine before midnight then it's best to buy before. Absolutely bonkers, but true!