Nailsea to Caerphilly valid only via Newport

[kentrailman]

Apogies if this is too trivial, but in front of me is a day return I have just completed from Nailsea and Backwell ( Near Bristol ) to Caerphilly that is marked " Valid Only via Newport".
What is the way not via Newport I am missing???

 

[davetheguard]

There isn't really a route that doesn't involve Newport.

I don't know why the railway sometimes does this. Unless people try to claim travel via Gloucester - Birmingham - Shrewsbury - Llandridnod Wells - Swansea - Cardiff - Caerphilly is a valid route!?

Steamer down the Avon gorge from Bristol Docks to Penarth (good luck with finding one of those), and then by train?

Last week I bought a ticket from a station in Devon to Looe that was routed "valid only via Plymouth". In this case there is absolutely no alternative route by train at all.

Seems bonkers, unless someone can explain the rationale?

 

[yorkie]

Apogies if this is too trivial, but in front of me is a day return I have just completed from Nailsea and Blackwell to Caerphilly that is marked " Valid Only via Newport".
What is the way not via Newport I am missing???

There isn't really a route that doesn't involve Newport.

I don't know why the railway sometimes does this. Unless people try to claim travel via Gloucester - Birmingham - Shrewsbury - Llandridnod Wells - Swansea - Cardiff - Caerphilly is a valid route!?

Steamer down the Avon gorge from Bristol Docks to Penarth (good luck with finding one of those), and then by train?

Last week I bought a ticket from a station in Devon to Looe that was routed "valid only via Plymouth". In this case there is absolutely no alternative route by train at all.

Seems bonkers, unless someone can explain the rationale?

The incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable ORR made RDG do it:

Jargon 'widely used' by railway ticket machines says regulator

Train companies are criticised for using confusing "jargon" at ticket machines and giving unclear information about ticket restrictions.

www.bbc.co.uk

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said there needed to be less use of industry jargon as well as clearer information on ticket restrictions...

...Phrases that were highlighted for concern in its report, external included "London Terminals" and "Any Permitted"...

So what they did was introduce pointless route restrictions, e.g. Darlington to Doncaster 'route York'

The idea is that if you were told you could take any permitted route, you would be confused. But telling you that you need to travel via Newport means you are able to confidently "make the best decision".

These restrictions cause all sorts of problems, especially when engineering works occur and custom easements need to be created.

They can also cause problems for journey planners (for those who work in, or understand, this industry, they can affect the NMF64 check to determine appropriate routing points).

If only we had a truly effective regulator who actually understood the real issues and did something useful. Sadly there is absolutely no prospect of that ever happening.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Apr 2026 ==

Seems bonkers...

It is indeed bonkers.

...unless someone can explain the rationale?

The ORR seem to take delight in making requirements that are bonkers.

Railway ticketing is just the tip of the iceberg (don't get me started on their electrification requirements...)

 

[father_jack]

I believe this was part of "any permitted" being withdrawn and replaced with a dot (.) in its place. That was unworkable or the like and something else had to go in the route space on the ticket.