Split point during disruption

[John R]

I have an advance ticket for the 1544 XC Stoke to Worcestershire Pkwy, and then a flexible single onwards to Nailsea. Due to the disruption outside Manchester the former train has been cancelled.

I know my advance single will be valid on the next XC train (1604) as far as New St (after which it goes to Bournemouth), but can I then catch a XC New St to Bristol service which doesn’t stop at Worcestershire Pkwy. Or do I have to wait for the next one that does stop there?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I have an advance ticket for the 1544 XC Stoke to Worcestershire Pkwy, and then a flexible single onwards to Nailsea. Due to the disruption outside Manchester the former train has been cancelled.

I know my advance single will be valid on the next XC train (1604) as far as New St (after which it goes to Bournemouth), but can I then catch a XC New St to Bristol service which doesn’t stop at Worcestershire Pkwy. Or do I have to wait for the next one that does stop there?

Someone will be along shortly who can give chapter and verse, but my understanding is that
- by the letter of the rules, you'll still need to call at Worcestershire Parkway
- but given that there's disruption, finding the guard of the train you want to travel on and asking (and explaining why) nicely is highly likely to lead to you being allowed to travel.

 

[Joey Beauchamp]

Someone will be along shortly who can give chapter and verse, but my understanding is that
- by the letter of the rules, you'll still need to call at Worcestershire Parkway
- but given that there's disruption, finding the guard of the train you want to travel on and asking (and explaining why) nicely is highly likely to lead to you being allowed to travel.

My anecdotal evidence is that last time I split at Worcester Parkway but then boarded a late running train that didn't stop there, the guard said "just so you know for next time" when checking the tickets and explained the situation.

Pretty sure I then got a fast train back too because the stopping service was cancelled, but didn't get my ticket checked that time. Needless to say, I've stopped getting that split now: the extra saving over splitting at Cheltenham isn't worth the stress.

 

[John R]

Someone will be along shortly who can give chapter and verse, but my understanding is that
- by the letter of the rules, you'll still need to call at Worcestershire Parkway
- but given that there's disruption, finding the guard of the train you want to travel on and asking (and explaining why) nicely is highly likely to lead to you being allowed to travel.

Thanks. That will indeed be my strategy if I can’t get a definitive answer beforehand, although whether the guard of the Edinburgh- Plymouth train will have the time to talk to me (and think of his answer) at New St is another matter!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Apr 2026 ==

Needless to say, I've stopped getting that split now: the extra saving over splitting at Cheltenham isn't worth the stress.

That’s helpful, and I tend to agree with you with regard to future purchases!

 

[fandroid]

Yes, sometimes the advantage gained from certain splits can be extremely marginal, but sadly there's no easy way of judging the risk/cost balance unless you're already familiar with the route and the normal stopping patterns

 

[John R]

As it turned out the connection was too tight at New St, so I ended up on the next Birmingham to Bristol train that called at Worcestershire Parkway anyway.

Now all I have to do is work out how to claim Delay Repay with the following set of tickets (all booked through one transaction on the forum's site):-
Congleton to Stoke (Northern Advance single)
Stoke to Stafford (XC Advance single)
Stafford to Worcestershire Parkway (XC Advance single)
WP to Nailsea & Backwell (Off peak day single)

where both the first (Northern) train and the second (XC) were cancelled.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

As it turned out the connection was too tight at New St, so I ended up on the next Birmingham to Bristol train that called at Worcestershire Parkway anyway.

Now all I have to do is work out how to claim Delay Repay with the following set of tickets (all booked through one transaction on the forum's site):-
Congleton to Stoke (Northern Advance single)
Stoke to Stafford (XC Advance single)
Stafford to Worcestershire Parkway (XC Advance single)
WP to Nailsea & Backwell (Off peak day single)

where both the first (Northern) train and the second (XC) were cancelled.

Again, my understanding (but an expert should be along shortly) is that you claim from the first operator whose failure delayed you. In this case, that's Northern.

 

[John R]

Again, my understanding (but an expert should be along shortly) is that you claim from the first operator whose failure delayed you. In this case, that's Northern.

Yes, I’ve made the claim with Northern, and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it is to claim a split ticket journey involving four tickets.

 

[Belperpete]

Yes, I’ve made the claim with Northern, and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it is to claim a split ticket journey involving four tickets.

Claiming might be the easy bit. I think that the TOCs have been leant on to make claiming with split tickets easy, certainly all those I regularly claim from have amended their websites to make it relatively easy (no more having to take one image of all the tickets and pretending they are just one).

 

[John R]

Claiming might be the easy bit.

Indeed, I’m reserving judgement on the outcome of it!