SNCB Senior Tickets

[LNW-GW Joint]

Planning to cover the Brussels-Köln route next month, I was surprised to find a Senior off-peak ticket between any two stations on SNCB for only €6 return.
Across the border to Aachen there is an add-on making it €9.60. Still a great deal.

I'm aiming to use this ticket Charleroi-Liège-Aachen, then a DB local to Köln (€16.20), and then a DB Spezial ICE ticket Köln-Brussels-Charleroi (€30, same fare to both Brussels or Charleroi).

I couldn't get the SNCB booking engine to accept "Via Brussels" for the Senior ticket.
What I would like to know is if I will have any trouble if I route via Brussels on the day, instead of using the direct route to Liège via Namur?
Seeing as it's a flat fare between all Belgian stations I wouldn't have thought so, but you never know...

Does anyone have experience of these tickets and of the attitude of SNCB conductors to these things?

 

[sheff1]

The Conditions for the Senior Ticket state that it is not valid for a 'VIA' journey, which is how SNCB describe something like Charleroi-Bruxelles-Liege.

I have had no personal experience of a Senior Ticket, but with other non-standard tickets they do seem to be checked quite closely.

 

[dutchflyer]

Helo all, bonjour-my first post-after having read for over 1 year this forum. Will limit myself to tickets/Europe.
Senior tickets in BE are not ''rare'' at all but extremely common, nor checked very specific-unless you look very much younger as possibly 65. However, ANY domestic BE-ticket MUST be via the quickest-in time or in Kms-route, as specified by the official b-rail jorneyplanner. In fact shortest in distance is first rule-and longer route is only allowed if it gives time-saving-and even then NO ''backtracking'' would be allowed. THUS CRL-Liege/onward via BRU is NOT allowed. If one would want to go via BRU-you would need 2 tickets : till/from BRU-still a big bargain. This also applies to to the Go1 junior pass (single-also 6€-but only online) or if using the 10-ride Railpass or GOpass-fill out 2 lines-thus double the price.
(tip/note: in this specific case-and if you want lowest payment -you could check if CRL-Nivelles=Nijvel/single is cheaper as 6€-from there the 6€/senior to Liege would apply as possible via BRU, but no break allowed there-have to use first train onward.
There is an add-on to all these tickets to go to Aachen or Maastricht or Roosendaal in NL-but for seniors always double, as these are returns-plain logic.
Senior returns are not valid during weekends summertime-and only after 9.00 mo-fr.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

However, ANY domestic BE-ticket MUST be via the quickest-in time or in Kms-route, as specified by the official b-rail jorneyplanner. In fact shortest in distance is first rule-and longer route is only allowed if it gives time-saving-and even then NO ''backtracking'' would be allowed. THUS CRL-Liege/onward via BRU is NOT allowed. If one would want to go via BRU-you would need 2 tickets : till/from BRU-still a big bargain.
(tip/note: in this specific case-and if you want lowest payment -you could check if CRL-Nivelles=Nijvel/single is cheaper as 6€-from there the 6€/senior to Liege would apply as possible via BRU, but no break allowed there-have to use first train onward.

Thanks for the detailed advice. I think I will get 2 Senior tickets to make sure!
Nivelles-Liege seems to be valid either via Brussels or Charleroi, but it's too complicated for me.
My problem is that I am flying Manchester-Charleroi but want to do the Brussels-Köln route on a day trip.
So my plan is use the 1000 Charleroi-Liege, 1133 Liege-Aachen and 1251 (RE) Aachen-Köln arrive 1344.
That gives me 2 hours in Köln before catching the 1545 ICE to Brussels and then down to Charleroi for the flight back.

The trouble is there is little room for error as the Liege-Aachen service is only every 2 hours and I would not make the ICE back if I missed a connection anywhere.
I could catch the 1436 Thalys Aachen-Köln, but they do not pick up in Aachen!

Plan B (if the plane is late) is to go Charleroi-Antwerp-Rotterdam instead, where the connections are more frequent.
So I think I'll buy a Senior ticket Charleroi-Roosendaal as my second ticket via Brussels just in case!
It's still a very cheap day out, even at double the senior fare.
The Ryanair flights Manchester-Charleroi are only £22 each way.
The biggest expense of the day is car parking at Manchester Airport - £36!

 

[dutchflyer]

IF you had to stay in Köln-you could have lowered that fare by a short break:
17.20 is likely full normal fare. However-for 17.60 you get a NRW schöne reise-valid 2 hrs on ANY local transport in NRW-incl. trams/bus in Köln to go to Hotel or so-or even as far as you could manage in 2 hrs-like to Essen. NO backtrack allowed though!
Halfway between Aach-K sits the town of Düren-border of AVV and VRS Verbund ticketing areas.
Single Aach-Düren is 8€ en D-K is even a little lower, but these tickets are only from the machines at the station-so you must break (trains run ev. half hour, but from D also more S-bahn trains).
IF you prebook trips BE-DE on b-rail, you can get additional from any Belg. station for free with ICE, and tickets to/from K for just 19€ are easy to get.
Yes I very well know of cheap Ryan and have also used them often-also from CRL (once to Prestwick).
Note that the TEC bus to CRL-station now cost a whopping 5€/single.
(the normal bus 365 by TEC from nearby Gosselies all the way to BRUssel is 2,90-single, but Goss is about unreachable from the airport, its all fenced off).
If running late-a alternative might also be Maastricht-hourly train from Liége in 30 mins, and also like Aachen with add-on available as senior ticket from BE.
The flibco.com direct COACH Airport-BRussel South cost 14€-prebooked online, or 17€ if bought overthere, there is now a 3€ booking ''fee''. This saves about 30 mins. vs TEC+train.