Non-reservable connection to advance ticket

[CaptainHaddock]

I dare say this is an old chestnut that's been debated on here many times but the only similar thread I've found is 3 years old and closed.


I have an advance purchase ticket from Portsmouth to Sheffield next month. The itinerary is Portsmouth to Winchester on a non-reservable train, connecting into a reservable XC direct from Winchester to Sheffield.

The suggested service from PMS to WIN gives me a mere 7 minute connection time, so at first I thought I'd take the train a hour earlier just to make sure.

Then I thought why not get a train several hours earlier and enjoy a day in Winchester to see the historic sites, have a wander about and a pint or two.

So my question is, I know I can get an earlier train from PMS to WIN, but how much earlier is within the rules - would 5 or 6 hours earlier be viewed by on train staff as not permitted or is there no hard and fast rule?

 

[AshValePsngr]

...Then I thought why not get a train several hours earlier and enjoy a day in Winchester to see the historic sites, have a wander about and a pint or two....

I believe this would be breaking your journey and against the terms and conditions on your advance purchase ticket.

 

[bb21]

Staff onboard the unreservable leg of your journey probably won't care, but if the guard does ask to see the reservation coupon for your next train, you will be asking for trouble.

Officially speaking you break your journey by going off to do sightseeing, etc, which is, as already pointed out, not permitted.

 

[AndyLandy]

The suggested service from PMS to WIN gives me a mere 7 minute connection time, so at first I thought I'd take the train a hour earlier just to make sure.

If the journey planner offered you up a 7 minute connection time, then that's an acceptable interchange time for the station you're changing at (Winchester only has two platforms, so a short interchange time is perfectly feasible)

If you miss the connection at Winchester because the in-bound service was late, you should be eligible to take a later service at no penalty to yourself.

Depending on such a delay, you may even be eligible for delay repay in that situation.

 

[Deerfold]

If the journey planner offered you up a 7 minute connection time, then that's an acceptable interchange time for the station you're changing at (Winchester only has two platforms, so a short interchange time is perfectly feasible)

If you miss the connection at Winchester because the in-bound service was late, you should be eligible to take a later service at no penalty to yourself.

Depending on such a delay, you may even be eligible for delay repay in that situation.

Indeed. But sometimes you really want to arrive on time and so take an earlier service to decrease the chances of anything going wrong. That should be fine for the OP.

However leaving the station to sightsee is not.

 

[AndyLandy]

Indeed. But sometimes you really want to arrive on time and so take an earlier service to decrease the chances of anything going wrong. That should be fine for the OP.

Oh, indeed. Of course, getting to Winchester an hour early won't help you if the ongoing XC service is delayed.

However leaving the station to sightsee is not.

Very true.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

If the journey planner offered you up a 7 minute connection time, then that's an acceptable interchange time for the station you're changing at (Winchester only has two platforms, so a short interchange time is perfectly feasible)

If you miss the connection at Winchester because the in-bound service was late, you should be eligible to take a later service at no penalty to yourself.

Depending on such a delay, you may even be eligible for delay repay in that situation.

Thanks but the situation is further complicated by the train I'm booked on being the last that will get me to Sheffield in time to catch my last local service home to Elsecar. There is a later service via London but I doubt that SWT, EMT and LUL will all accept an XC Only advance ticket!
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However leaving the station to sightsee is not.

So if I got the train an hour earlier to give myself a 1 hour 7 minutes connecting time, I wouldn't be allowed to leave the station?

(I know there's barriers in operation there but would my ticket work them?)

 

[island]

You are not permitted to leave an intermediate station if break of journey is prohibited on your ticket type, other than to make a required walking connection, to comply with the instructions of staff, or to stay overnight when your journey can't reasonably be completed in one day.

Note that you are not breaking your journey if you use station facilities, nor if you ask a staff member where you should go to smoke a cigarette and follow their instructions.

Advance tickets may or may not work barriers at intermediate stations; depends on how they're programmed. I know Southern has programmed many of its ticket gates to blanket-reject advances for some reason.

 

[bb21]

So if I got the train an hour earlier to give myself a 1 hour 7 minutes connecting time, I wouldn't be allowed to leave the station?

There are various reasons for which you can legitimately leave the station.

However if you travel 5/6 hours early then it is quite obvious that you are taking the pee, if the guard takes a more strict approach.