New Network Card query.

[General Zod]

I plan to travel from A to C via B, buying a Network card discounted A-C ticket. A friend is meeting me at B so can I buy her a discounted B-C ticket on my card provided we travel together or will I have to purchase an A-C ticket for her too ?
Thanks.

 

[Romilly]

This comes from the FAQs on the network railcard website:

Do all passengers travelling with Network Railcard discounted tickets have to complete the same journey as the Network Railcard holder?

A: Yes. All passengers taking advantage of the Network Railcard discount must travel with the Railcard holder throughout the entire journey.
If members of the group are only travelling one way, then they can be added to the group in order to obtain a discount but must travel with the Railcard holder for the course of the one way journey.

The actual terms & conditions say:

9. Additional accompanying passengers for whom discounted tickets are purchased must travel with the Railcard holder throughout the journey.

My reading of all that is that you must buy one discounted ticket for A-B, and two discounted tickets for B-C.

 

[Joe Paxton]

I plan to travel from A to C via B, buying a Network card discounted A-C ticket. A friend is meeting me at B so can I buy her a discounted B-C ticket on my card provided we travel together or will I have to purchase an A-C ticket for her too ?
Thanks.

I think it's fine - I've done the same a few times - though as she has to be accompanying you, you should break your journey at point B - i.e. she's not supposed to be on the platform at station B with a Railcard-discounted ticket waiting to join you (and your Railcard) on a train that stops there.

(Though I and three friends have illicitly done the latter - the ticket office at station B was closed when it should have been open, and the TVM didn't offer GroupSave, so the three of them bought Network Railcard discounted tickets and joined me on the train - I had started at A, on a train that called at B, and we all got off at C.)

 

[Hadders]

Bear in mind that your friend will need to get through the barriers at B without a railcard, unless you're planning to get off at B.

 

[island]

This comes from the FAQs on the network railcard website:

The actual terms & conditions say:

My reading of all that is that you must buy one discounted ticket for A-B, and two discounted tickets for B-C.

I disagree. One A-C and one B-C will be fine with the proviso that...

Bear in mind that your friend will need to get through the barriers at B without a railcard, unless you're planning to get off at B.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I disagree. One A-C and one B-C will be fine with the proviso that...

I would agree with this, not to say that any awkward RPI also would - but if the origin has barriers the A-C ticket will need to permit BoJ and you will have to break your journey to collect them.

To me it is meant to say "the whole of their journey" - i.e. everyone travelling on the Railcard must have immediate access to the Railcard while on or about the railway. The FAQ seems to confirm this, saying it would be OK to have passengers on a return accompanied by one on a single.

 

[Joe Paxton]

I would agree with this, not to say that any awkward RPI also would - but if the origin has barriers the A-C ticket will need to permit BoJ and you will have to break your journey to collect them.

To me it is meant to say "the whole of their journey" - i.e. everyone travelling on the Railcard must have immediate access to the Railcard while on or about the railway. The FAQ seems to confirm this, saying it would be OK to have passengers on a return accompanied by one on a single.

I concur with that - hence why in my earlier post I gave an example of something I and friends had done 'illicitly' - they bought Network Railcard-discounted tickets but did not have immediate access to said Network Railcard until they joined me on a train which stopped at their station.

(Yes it was a small risk for them, but as I said they wanted GroupSave and ticket office was closed when it should have been open and the TVM didn't offer GroupSave tickets, plus it was a DOO train, and to be blunt it was on a route where buying a ticket seems like something of an optional exercise in the first place!)

 

[Bletchleyite]

I concur with that - hence why in my earlier post I gave an example of something I and friends had done 'illicitly' - they bought Network Railcard-discounted tickets but did not have immediate access to said Network Railcard until they joined me on a train which stopped at their station.

I'll admit I have done that as well, with a proviso of "if the barriers are closed give me a ring and I'll stop off to pick you up". No point wasting time stopping off unnecessarily. Though obviously they would only be able to buy a ticket at the TVM, the ticket office wouldn't sell it without the Railcard present.