This article was published in the March edition of Railtalk magazine
Off Peak fares in the South East - don't let them scam you!
It's worth bearing in mind that Off Peak tickets for journeys wholly in the South East area are generally restricted until after 0930 (with some exceptions), but journeys between stations inside the South East to/from stations outside the South East, via London, are completely unrestricted between the South East station and London! But passengers have reported that some staff in the South East area are unaware of this and incorrectly attempt to issue excess fares.
For example, a ticket from Rugby or Peterborough to somewhere like Colchester, is unrestricted on London Liverpool Street to Colchester trains, whatever any announcements say. Guards on these trains regularly announce that Off Peak tickets are not valid, but such sweeping statements are not strictly true. While National Express East Anglia (NXEA) has the right to state that all their Off peak tickets from London to Colchester are not valid at certain times, they have to abide by the restrictions on other tickets and cannot refuse to accept these tickets.
If you are asked to pay an excess in these circumstances, refuse. Ask the staff member to check the restriction code. Even better, prepare yourself by asking for the restriction code when you buy the ticket and bring it along when you travel. Ask the person who is trying to excess you for their name, and then write to the TOC concerned suggesting that the person is given training in this area. It's not the staff on the ground's fault; it's the fault of managers who do not provide sufficient training for their staff.
Online booking changes
Both Southern and CrossCountry have introduced new ticketing sites. Southern have gone with ATOS Origin (who provide the site for NXEC) and CrossCountry are using an updated version of Thetrainline.
It looks like we are seeing the end of Thetrainline's dominance, which can only be a good thing. With two operators now using ATOS origin, and I'd expect more to follow. Different booking engines work in different ways and having a selection to choose from means that the chances of finding good deals are increased.
Utilising the "via" or "avoid" options can sometimes yield cheaper Advance fares - for example if the lowest pried quota for the fastest train has sold out. It's also worth pointing out that ATOS Origin and Thetrainline have their own, different interpretations of ATOC's Routeing Guide.
It is also advisable to avoid the main Thetrainline site, as this charges a £1 booking fee (this increases by a further £2.50 if a credit card is used instead of a debit card), however until 9th of March you can actually get a better deal on Thetrainline's site, as you can save £4 when spending over £20 by entering the promotion code 'TRAVSUP42'. The discount is applied just before payment, and is claimed to be a £5 discount, minus the £1 booking fee for using the main Thetrainline site.
Virgin Trains off peak policy changes
You may recall my article in the November edition of Railtalk Magazine about a leaflet titled "Is your Off Peak ticket valid?", it proudly boasted that Virgin do not have any peak restrictions for journeys north of Milton Keynes, however Virgin quietly introduced draconian restrictions on Off Peak tickets in the January fares change, causing massive increases in fares at peak times.
For a journey such as Crewe to Preston, the first off peak service is the 10:09 arriving 10:51 and to travel earlier the fare increases from £21 to £35 - a massive increase by stealth. In this particular case, passengers can buy Crewe to Wigan Anytime Day (£12.70) and Wigan to Preston Anytime Day (£6.20) making a total of £18.90. Virgin are effectively trying to scam passengers into paying an extra £16.10 for this journey. My advice is not to let Virgin get away with this scam, do your research and split the tickets and pay a fair fare.
It is worth noting that Virgin still allow railcard holders to use any train on an Off Peak ticket (as mentioned in detail in the January article) so the increases only apply to non-railcard holders.
Off Peak fares in the South East - don't let them scam you!
It's worth bearing in mind that Off Peak tickets for journeys wholly in the South East area are generally restricted until after 0930 (with some exceptions), but journeys between stations inside the South East to/from stations outside the South East, via London, are completely unrestricted between the South East station and London! But passengers have reported that some staff in the South East area are unaware of this and incorrectly attempt to issue excess fares.
For example, a ticket from Rugby or Peterborough to somewhere like Colchester, is unrestricted on London Liverpool Street to Colchester trains, whatever any announcements say. Guards on these trains regularly announce that Off Peak tickets are not valid, but such sweeping statements are not strictly true. While National Express East Anglia (NXEA) has the right to state that all their Off peak tickets from London to Colchester are not valid at certain times, they have to abide by the restrictions on other tickets and cannot refuse to accept these tickets.
If you are asked to pay an excess in these circumstances, refuse. Ask the staff member to check the restriction code. Even better, prepare yourself by asking for the restriction code when you buy the ticket and bring it along when you travel. Ask the person who is trying to excess you for their name, and then write to the TOC concerned suggesting that the person is given training in this area. It's not the staff on the ground's fault; it's the fault of managers who do not provide sufficient training for their staff.
Online booking changes
Both Southern and CrossCountry have introduced new ticketing sites. Southern have gone with ATOS Origin (who provide the site for NXEC) and CrossCountry are using an updated version of Thetrainline.
It looks like we are seeing the end of Thetrainline's dominance, which can only be a good thing. With two operators now using ATOS origin, and I'd expect more to follow. Different booking engines work in different ways and having a selection to choose from means that the chances of finding good deals are increased.
Utilising the "via" or "avoid" options can sometimes yield cheaper Advance fares - for example if the lowest pried quota for the fastest train has sold out. It's also worth pointing out that ATOS Origin and Thetrainline have their own, different interpretations of ATOC's Routeing Guide.
It is also advisable to avoid the main Thetrainline site, as this charges a £1 booking fee (this increases by a further £2.50 if a credit card is used instead of a debit card), however until 9th of March you can actually get a better deal on Thetrainline's site, as you can save £4 when spending over £20 by entering the promotion code 'TRAVSUP42'. The discount is applied just before payment, and is claimed to be a £5 discount, minus the £1 booking fee for using the main Thetrainline site.
Virgin Trains off peak policy changes
You may recall my article in the November edition of Railtalk Magazine about a leaflet titled "Is your Off Peak ticket valid?", it proudly boasted that Virgin do not have any peak restrictions for journeys north of Milton Keynes, however Virgin quietly introduced draconian restrictions on Off Peak tickets in the January fares change, causing massive increases in fares at peak times.
For a journey such as Crewe to Preston, the first off peak service is the 10:09 arriving 10:51 and to travel earlier the fare increases from £21 to £35 - a massive increase by stealth. In this particular case, passengers can buy Crewe to Wigan Anytime Day (£12.70) and Wigan to Preston Anytime Day (£6.20) making a total of £18.90. Virgin are effectively trying to scam passengers into paying an extra £16.10 for this journey. My advice is not to let Virgin get away with this scam, do your research and split the tickets and pay a fair fare.
It is worth noting that Virgin still allow railcard holders to use any train on an Off Peak ticket (as mentioned in detail in the January article) so the increases only apply to non-railcard holders.
