Return fare different stations

[zaphodes]

The Southwest Train service train stations include, in order, Walton on Thames -->Weybridge --> Woking. I want a day trip Weybridge to Woking and back to Walton on Thames (a mile or so up the line)

Can I buy an online day return ticket Walton on Thames to Woking and back but collect the ticket and board in Weybridge for the outward trip?

 

[Romilly]

Welcome to the forum.

This is fine for Walton to Woking return tickets (but may not be fine for tickets for other journeys: some tickets have restrictions on "breaking your journey", which is understand to also cover starting your journey at an intermediate station). You have to read the detailed text for the particular ticket you are intending to use. If the restriction text says nothing about breaking your journey, you are fine to break your journey or to start or finish at an intermediate station.

 

[CatfordCat]

I have no idea about the online options, but not sure you would save anything buying online for a journey like that, and I am fairly sure that ordinary day returns / off peak returns do not have restrictions about you starting from the wrong station (there are some very special offer advance fares where you shouldn't start part way through the journey you have booked)

The ticket office (assuming it's open at the time you travel) at Weybridge would be able to sell you a Walton on Thames - Woking return ticket.

As would the SWR ticket vending machine at Weybridge - there's a button near bottom left of screen 'tickets from other stations'

Or if it would work out cheaper then get a Weybridge - Woking return and a Weybridge - Walton single

The train guards on the 'all stations' SWR services do not generally sell tickets on board the trains by the way.

 

[Muzer]

BRFares gives direct insight into which fares are available in the fares database. It can be a little complicated to understand especially for longer journeys but it's very useful as an exhaustive way of finding all fares that are potentially available!

In this case, all the fares for that journey are walk-up, meaning there's no advantage to buying in advance; you may as well buy from the ticket machine or ticket office on the day (the older SWR ticket machines, the larger S&B ones, can sell tickets from other stations - on the main screen there's a "tickets from other stations" button). In addition, as others have mentioned, none of these tickets have break of journey restrictions, so you're perfectly permitted to start your journey at a later station than your ticket is valid from.