Possible to downgrade 1st Class Advance to standard class

[Galapogos]

Is it possible to change a 1st Class Advance Single ticket to a Standard Class Super Off-Peak Single? I'd like to buy tickets for London Paddington to Cornwall and prefer to travel in 1st class. There is however a (small) change we won't be able to make the train we intend to book tickets for. So it would be good to know if is possible to change our 1st Class Advance tickets for Standard Class Super Off-Peak Single tickets later in the day. I know you won't get any refunds on the price difference between the two, but at least it gives peace of mind that we can always travel at a later time on the same day, without having to pay a potentially large sum of money for a full fare 1st class ticket.

Some more details: we will arrive by ferry from The Netherlands in the morning. There we take a train to London (this is included with our ferry ticket). If all goes well (which it usually does) we'll arrive at Stratford at 8:47 AM. The train to Cornwall leaves London Paddington at 10:03. We have done this before and this usually leaves enough time. But there is always a possibility that we suffer a delay. We could book the next train to Cornwall instead to be on the safe side, but since there is only one direct train every two hours, this isn't an attractive option. We are travelling with an infant, so we try to keep the total journey time as short as possible.

 

[dmncf]

If you book your 1st Class Advance Single from CrossCountry, you can use the CrossCountry website or app to amend it free of charge. This includes amending from 1st Class to Standard Class. In my experience you can amend on the same day that your original train departs, up to the departure time of your original train. I have never tried amending after the departure time of the original train - not sure if you would need this.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Advance tickets have no value after the departure time of the first reserved service (unless you're delayed and the rail industry is at fault) and you'd have to buy a new ticket.

This is documented in Section 7 of the Advance ticket Terms & Conditions.

Unofficially, you may find a member of staff willing to charge an Excess in such circumstances, but there's no right to same.

Additionally, an 08:47 arrival at Stratford doesn't provide a valid connection to a 10:03 departure from Paddington. The minimum connection time is the interchange time at each end (7 minutes at Stratford and 15 minutes at Paddington) plus 57 minutes for the transfer. (Not updated since the Elizabeth Line opened.) So the earliest valid departure from Paddington would be at 10:06.

If you remained on the train all the way to Liverpool Street (due 08:55), the minimum connection time is reduced to 55 minutes (15 minutes interchange time at both ends, plus 25 minutes for the transfer) which means the 10:03 is a valid connection from Paddington.

 

[Flying Snail]

Advance tickets have no value after the departure time of the first reserved service (unless you're delayed and the rail industry is at fault) and you'd have to buy a new ticket.

This is documented in Section 7 of the Advance ticket Terms & Conditions.

Unofficially, you may find a member of staff willing to charge an Excess in such circumstances, but there's no right to same.

Additionally, an 08:47 arrival at Stratford doesn't provide a valid connection to a 10:03 departure from Paddington. The minimum connection time is the interchange time at each end (7 minutes at Stratford and 15 minutes at Paddington) plus 57 minutes for the transfer. (Not updated since the Elizabeth Line opened.) So the earliest valid departure from Paddington would be at 10:06.

If you remained on the train all the way to Liverpool Street (due 08:55), the minimum connection time is reduced to 55 minutes (15 minutes interchange time at both ends, plus 25 minutes for the transfer) which means the 10:03 is a valid connection from Paddington.

Assuming it is a valid connection (changing at Liverpool St.) then if you miss the 10.03 from Paddington due to delays on the railway (or ferry on your sail-rail ticket) then your advance will be valid to use on the next train to your destination, speak to staff if this happens and preferably get the ticked endorsed for later travel.

 

[Hadders]

Additionally, an 08:47 arrival at Stratford doesn't provide a valid connection to a 10:03 departure from Paddington. The minimum connection time is the interchange time at each end (7 minutes at Stratford and 15 minutes at Paddington) plus 57 minutes for the transfer. (Not updated since the Elizabeth Line opened.) So the earliest valid departure from Paddington would be at 10:06.

I'm not sure this is correct if the Eibzabeth Line is used, because it's a National Rail service throughout journey planners should give itineraries based on the national rail timetable plus the relevent connection times at Stratford and Paddington.

I can get ticketing selling websites to give departures from Paddington from 09:31

 

[CyrusWuff]

Mea culpa. I'd fallen into the TfL trap of thinking the Elizabeth Line isn't NR, and forgotten it wouldn't need a fixed link as it appears in NR systems.

Doesn't change the notion that 57 minutes for the LU transfer from Stratford against 25 from Liverpool Street is excessive though, given the two stations are only 10 minutes apart whether you take the Central Line or NR services.

 

[Hadders]

Mea culpa. I'd fallen into the TfL trap of thinking the Elizabeth Line isn't NR, and forgotten it wouldn't need a fixed link as it appears in NR systems.

Doesn't change the notion that 57 minutes for the LU transfer from Stratford against 25 from Liverpool Street is excessive though, given the two stations are only 10 minutes apart whether you take the Central Line or NR services.

Agreed! 57 minutes is far too long for that transfer.