Return Journey booked with TrainSplit, join train at later station upon return?

[btb16]

I'll be travelling from Leicester to Inverness and looked at booking a return ticket with TrainSplit.

It would be more more convenient for me to board the train back at Kingussie (the train sops there), that leg of the ticket is an Advance Single code GA, it appears to say that advance tickets are valid only on the specific booked train. Can I get on at a later station?

If it isn't allowed are there any options to amend the ticket after the outward journey?

I'm asking because two singles works out at quite a bit more.

 

[ainsworth74]

So technically speaking this is not permitted. You're supposed to travel as per the itinerary for an Advance ticket which means joining at Inverness.

Now, the likelihood is that, as long as you join the right train that a) no-one will notice and b) even if they do they probably won't care. But it cannot be guaranteed. There is guidance that passengers shouldn't be penalised for joining or leaving a service early where their main purpose wasn't to avoid paying the correct fare (such as it being more condiment to leave early). But that's guidance not a contractual entitlement.

It's a tricky one. I reckon the odds of you coming to grief are very low but technically speaking if you do join the train at a later station then you'd be open to potentially being excessed up to the correct fare (which would be the walk-up single, potentially very expensive!).

 

[Hadders]

Technically it's not allowed but the policy of the rail industry is that although Advance tickets are intended to be used only between the origin and destination stations shown on the ticket, there may be occasions where a passenger joins the correct train but at a later station, or alights earlier than the indicated destination. Although this is not strictly in accordance with the rules for Advance tickets, the Rail industry has agreed that in such cases, no additional fare should be charged (unless there is clear evidence of intent to try and avoid a higher fare).

 

[pelli]

I'll be travelling from Leicester to Inverness and looked at booking a return ticket with TrainSplit.
[...]
that leg of the ticket is an Advance Single code GA
[...]
I'm asking because two singles works out at quite a bit more.

It sounds like Trainsplit is offering a split using return tickets for part of the journey and singles for the others (including the part that you want to customise), or else booking the two legs separately should cost the same as booking them as a return trip (except the "share of saving" might be different...).

You could replicate the same split manually, but book the last leg to Inverness and back from Kingussie. Or if you prefer to let Trainsplit handle the splitting, then you could ask it for a return to the last split point and then do two singles manually from there, or ask it for a return to Kingussie - assuming the outbound train also stops there - and add in a single Kingussie-Inverness yourself. Or if you've already booked the tickets, then depending on where the last split point is, you might find that getting a separate Advance from Kingussie to there and binning the ticket from Inverness is not too costly.

If you do chance it with an Advance from Inverness and are made to pay an excess (although it seems unlikely that would happen), then it should only be for the leg covered by that Advance ticket, not the whole journey.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Another option is to specify an alternative origin on the return leg of Kingussie. It will calculate the optimal split as a return (often better than two straight single legs) with return tickets coming into play in the split. Two singles may still be the best option (if, as said, not already booked)

Trainsplit's customisation and advanced settings are head and shoulders above anything else out there.

 

[btb16]

Thank you for the replies, I thought as much, so still not sure what to do. I'd hate to be caught out, though seems quite unlikely, and there may be two of us going so feel a responsibility for the other person as well.

Haven't booked yet, as mentioned I could also get a return to Kingussie, then when on the train up to Scotland get a single from Kingussie to Inverness.

I'll most likely just do that.

I haven't found a way to use TrainSplit to change the return station, other than 2 singles, which is quite a bit more pricey

 

[ainsworth74]

Obviously I don't know your travel dates or times but here's an example with the outward to Inverness and the return from Kingussie which is cheaper than a journey to/from Inverness:

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