NRE Showing Itins with Double Back Manchester - Sandback

[Puffing Devil]

I'm looking to travel this Sunday and NRE is showing valid routes travelling

Manchester - Crewe - Sandbach (and v.v.)

Example VTWC 15:55 Manchester - Crewe
16:58 Crewe to Sandbach

which is doubling back. I can't see an easement to permit this. Any idea why this is showing up for an off peak return?

It does help mitigate the long wait if you miss a train with the 2 hourly stopping service on a Sunday.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Crewe passes the fares check as a destination routeing point for a Manchester to Sandbach journey (the fare is the same to both places), and the local journey from the destination routeing point (Crewe) to the destination (Sandbach) is permitted in itself (through train). The main mapped route is validated separately and is traceable on map MR between Manchester Group and Crewe with no doublebacks. So that's all perfectly OK.

 

[All Line Rover]

Which is perfectly just considering the raw deal Sandbach gets. The same "Any Permitted" fares as from Crewe (both walk-up and season ticket), but with a less regular service and stopping services only (no fast, comfortable Virgin Trains services as are available from Crewe, with cheaper "VTWC Only" fares to boot!).

 

[Puffing Devil]

Thanks for that - it's not easily discernable for the amateur route finder.

It's not my usual station, so I was surprised by the routing.

 

[All Line Rover]

You should probably be grateful for that! One has to laugh at the overpriced housing developments near Sandbach station advertising the "superb" connections to Manchester (which are regularly advertised on posters at... Crewe station), when Sandbach to Manchester is such a laborious commute compared to Crewe to Manchester, which is one of the most pleasant and best value commutes in England. Driving from Sandbach to Crewe is hardly an attractive option when one spends most of the journey (on weekdays) stuck in traffic jams, not forgetting the £12/day parking charge at Crewe station (which is fine for a journey to London; Manchester, not so much).

 

[Kite159]

You should probably be grateful for that! One has to laugh at the overpriced housing developments near Sandbach station advertising the "superb" connections to Manchester (which are regularly advertised on posters at... Crewe station), when Sandbach to Manchester is such a laborious commute compared to Crewe to Manchester, which is one of the most pleasant and best value commutes in England. Driving from Sandbach to Crewe is hardly an attractive option when one spends most of the journey (on weekdays) stuck in traffic jams, not forgetting the £12/day parking charge at Crewe station (which is fine for a journey to London; Manchester, not so much).

At least one advantage of being the first stop is the much improved chance of a seat in the mornings. Not so much in the evenings (but more of a chance as the journey continues)