Paddington - Exeter - Manchester

[Adam0984]

Okay so here is what I am doing
London Paddington to Exeter SD 1206 train
Exeter SD to Manchester P 1448 train
My question is is a Manchester to Exeter super off peak return not via London valid via Reading then a London to Reading ticket for the missing bit?

 

[yorkie]

You want to know if a Manchester - Exeter ticket, routed "not via London", is valid via Reading?

To do this you need to consult the Routeing Guide.

As you can see from the yellow pages, the mapped routes between Exeter Group & Manchester Group are on the following maps:

• MP
• MP+NR
• PM
• PM+NR

The maps can be viewed here: http://data.atoc.org/routeing-maps

As you can see, none of the maps include Reading.

In contrast, the fares routed "+via London" are valid by all the permitted routes Manchester - London (which includes via Reading) plus all the permitted routes London - Exeter. And, because it's a higher priced fare, it's also valid on all the above mapped routes avoiding London too.

 

[Adam0984]

That is what I suspected but couldn't get the national rail journey planner to do via reading but not London on my phone. Back to the drawing board

 

[higthomas]

As a simple way to do something a bit like what you want, you could get a Coventry to Exeter Off peak return via Birmingham, excess it to via Reading on the outward leg, and then also get a Birmingham to Manchester off peak single.