St Albans to Sheffield - Doubling Back

[DelayRepay]

Hi,

I make the above journey often but until recently had a season ticket from St Albans to London so was able to travel via London without any issue.

Now I no longer have my season ticket as it expired and I am starting a different job in the New Year so won't need to travel into London often enough to make it worth while.

When I check for tickets from St Albans to Sheffield the journey planner is offering me journeys via London St Pancras. I was expecting to have to travel to somewhere like Luton Airport or Bedford and change there.

Is there an easement allowing me to double back through St Albans on this route? Obviously going via St Pancras is preferable as I can use a faster train to Sheffield. I know the fact the journey planner is offering it means it's a valid route but am interested in why this is so?

(I am planning to get a Super Off Peak return for the New Year weekend, so if anyone knows a cheaper way that would also be appreciated! )

Thanks

 

[Clip]

I think its because so few Sheffield services connect at the stations you have mentioned that it is allowed. There is probably an easement which someone will find for you but if they give you the itinerary then its valid.

 

[bb21]

The £65.50 fare does not permit doubleback via London. The £87.50 and £97.70 fares do.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

The £65.50 fare does not permit doubleback via London. The £87.50 and £97.70 fares do.

Looking them up on brfares, they are respectively routed as "not via London", "via Chesterfield" and "any permitted". The "any permitted" fare is set by VTEC, presumably including routes via Kings Cross. The other two fares are East Midlands.

 

[bb21]

Yes, the Any Permitted flow between the London area and Sheffield permits travel via the ECML. Whether the Routeing Guide still permits it I don't know, as it is being repeatedly messed around with at the moment, but that was certainly the intention of the fare.

 

[kieron]

I think its because so few Sheffield services connect at the stations you have mentioned that it is allowed. There is probably an easement which someone will find for you but if they give you the itinerary then its valid.

It's not an easement as such.

St. Albans is associated with West Hampstead Thameslink and Bedford.
Sheffield is a routeing point.
Both West Hampstead Thameslink and Bedford pass the "fare check" for this journey.
One of the map combinations available for travel from West Hampstead Thameslink to Sheffield is "LONDON"*.

"The range of permitted routes via London is discovered by the following method:
1. Look up the permitted routes from the origin routeing point to London.
2. Look up the permitted routes from London to the destination routeing point.
3. Work out the range of permitted routes for the whole journey by combining any route found in (1) with any route found in (2). All possible combinations are permitted routes for the journey except those with a repeated map."

1. The MI map contains a route from West Hampstead Thameslink to London via Kentish Town.
2. The SY map contains a route from London to Sheffield via West Hampstead Thameslink, St. Albans, Leicester, Derby and Chesterfield.
3. Therefore, St. Albans-West Hampstead-London-West Hampstead Thameslink-St. Albans-Leicester-Derby-Chesterfield-Sheffield is one example of a permitted route for the whole journey.

* In fact, this is a combination available for travel from West Hampstead Thameslink to any other routeing point in the country, except for London itself.