Severn and Solent Rover Ticket

[dcd]

Hi, am I correct in remembering that there was an easement on these tickets such that they could be used before 09:00 if it was an off-peak train. I am sure in the past I have used one on the 08:32 Southampton Central to Great Malvern using this easement. Since the recent timetable change this train only goes to Bristol and is no longer available as off-peak.
I asked a few weeks ago at a ticket office and they found some easements for specific other trains but I have been unable to track them down. GWR WhatsApp were asked on 12th May 2023 but have not yet (31/05/2023) managed to find out. It is now too late as I was going to go to Severn Valley Gala but didn’t go as later trains got there too late to be worthwhile.

 

[Benjwri]

Hi, am I correct in remembering that there was an easement on these tickets such that they could be used before 09:00 if it was an off-peak train. I am sure in the past I have used one on the 08:32 Southampton Central to Great Malvern using this easement. Since the recent timetable change this train only goes to Bristol and is no longer available as off-peak.
I asked a few weeks ago at a ticket office and they found some easements for specific other trains but I have been unable to track them down. GWR WhatsApp were asked on 12th May 2023 but have not yet (31/05/2023) managed to find out. It is now too late as I was going to go to Severn Valley Gala but didn’t go as later trains got there too late to be worthwhile.

This definitely isn’t true. There is no such thing as an ‘off peak’ train, it depends on the ticket type you hold. The Severn and Solent river is restricted B3 which carries the following restrictions:

Not valid on trains timed to depart after 04:29 and before 09:00.

There are no listed easements, there may have been in the past but currently not and you’d have a hard time convincing staff if there were and they were this hard to find.

 

[Lewlew]

You could have bought the rover along with a single ticket to take you to a station past 9am. Salisbury potentially.

 

[30907]

An Anytime Single to Dean on the 0851 is £4.90, and if the connections work you still make Kidderminster at 1306.
Or the cheapest Advance to Warminster on the 0835 is £5.50 (late June) - Salisbury works, but the Anytime is £8.70. Less risky!

 

[Western Sunset]

No time restrictions at weekends and on bank holidays.

 

[dcd]

This definitely isn’t true. There is no such thing as an ‘off peak’ train, it depends on the ticket type you hold. The Severn and Solent river is restricted B3 which carries the following restrictions:

There are no listed easements, there may have been in the past but currently not and you’d have a hard time convincing staff if there were and they were this hard to find.

I meant a train where the ticket would have been off-peak as that one was prior to the timetable change. I did not travel as I could no longer find the easement so no need to convince anyone.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 May 2023 ==

Just noticed on the National Rail website the map no longer exists, just a list of stations. Just having a list of stations does not help if you do not know all the stations. Eg Fareham and Eastleigh are listed so you might think you can get the direct train, but Botley and Hedge End are not listed and weren’t shown as valid on the map when it was available. Also it says valid in both directions:x No I have no idea what that means.

 

[MikeWM]

I meant a train where the ticket would have been off-peak as that one was prior to the timetable change.

That certainly used to be the case - the GWR booklet used to list the specific trains that had the added validity - but it appears this has been quietly removed at some point fairly recently. Indeed railrover.org still (apparently erroneously) claims that to be the case for the Devon & Cornwall and South West rovers.

 

[dcd]

That certainly used to be the case - the GWR booklet used to list the specific trains that had the added validity - but it appears this has been quietly removed at some point fairly recently. Indeed railrover.org still (apparently erroneously) claims that to be the case for the Devon & Cornwall and South West rovers.

I am glad I am not going mad, or senile. I was certain I was correct.

 

[Benjwri]

Just noticed on the National Rail website the map no longer exists, just a list of stations. Just having a list of stations does not help if you do not know all the stations. Eg Fareham and Eastleigh are listed so you might think you can get the direct train, but Botley and Hedge End are not listed and weren’t shown as valid on the map when it was available. Also it says valid in both directions:x No I have no idea what that means.

The new National Rail site is a bit of a mess at the moment. The GWR ranger and rover page still includes a map, shown below.


== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 May 2023 ==

Eg Fareham and Eastleigh are listed so you might think you can get the direct train, but Botley and Hedge End are not listed and weren’t shown as valid on the map when it was available.

Direct train is definitely allowed on the GWR map, which hasn't changed since 2019.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 May 2023 ==

And having looked at some archived pages, you are correct. It appears this has been removed very recently, as it was still the case in January 2023, which is when the following restriction was archived:

Available after 09:00 (Mondays-Fridays) or when Off-Peak Day Return is valid (whichever is earlier). Additionally valid on the 08:26 Westbury to Penzance service.

 

[MikeWM]

Direct train is definitely allowed on the GWR map, which hasn't changed since 2019.

It's never been on the Project Mapping map (which used to be the map shown on NRE until last month) though - here's the current version from http://www.projectmapping.co.uk/Resources/Freedom of Severn Solent 3.pdf:



I did actually use a FOSS between Fareham and Eastleigh about 5 years ago, assuming it was allowed without checking the map. My ticket was checked on the train, but nothing was said. Only later that evening when colouring in my map did I realise I possibly shouldn't have done that. (I think that's the only time I've used a rover where I probably shouldn't have. There's the old question of the validity of the Penistone line on a North East rover, which I've done a few times, but I think that's been established to be definitely allowed - at some point or other in the last 10 years the line was added to the map on NRE).

 

[Benjwri]

It's never been on the Project Mapping map (which used to be the map shown on NRE until last month) though - here's the current version from http://www.projectmapping.co.uk/Resources/Freedom of Severn Solent 3.pdf:

View attachment 136339

I did actually use a FOSS between Fareham and Eastleigh about 5 years ago, assuming it was allowed without checking the map. My ticket was checked on the train, but nothing was said. Only later that evening when colouring in my map did I realise I possibly shouldn't have done that. (I think that's the only time I've used a rover where I probably shouldn't have. There's the old question of the validity of the Penistone line on a North East rover, which I've done a few times, but I think that's been established to be definitely allowed - at some point or other in the last 10 years the line was added to the map on NRE).

The project mapping map isn't official though, the GWR one is far more binding. You'd certainly have a very strong case for the removal of any kind of penalty fare or ticket you had to buy were someone to bring it up.

 

[MikeWM]

The project mapping map isn't official though, the GWR one is far more binding.

In practical terms now, yes. I'm not sure if that was realistically the case back when the Project Mapping map was the 'official' map shown on NRE, especially when Botley and Hedge End weren't/aren't shown in the list of valid stations that accompanied it on NRE. This debate was also had over the North East Rover some years back as I mentioned above - though in that case the stations *were* shown in the list, even though they weren't on the map.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/freedom-of-the-north-east-rover-anomaly.38416/

You'd certainly have a very strong case for the removal of any kind of penalty fare or ticket you had to buy were someone to bring it up.

Yes - and I'd imagine the chances of anyone bringing it up in the first place is minimal anyway, and if they did a quick wave of the GWR map should be sufficient as a reply.