Stirling to Exhibition Centre Glasgow & the new Routeing Guide

[dtaylor84]

So, I'm trying to plan a trip from Stirling to the SECC (Exhibition Centre Glasgow, in National Rail speak) tomorrow (Monday) evening. What could be simpler?

According to brfares.com I want a CDR from STG to EXG for £8.10. Great, just need to check what trains it's valid on...

http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=STG&dest=EXG&tkt=CDR
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/pdfs/CDR_H1.pdf

I'm trying to get there for about 1845 so one option would be:

1729 Stirling - 1809 Queen Street
1823 Queen Street - 1829 Partick
1840 Partick - 1843 Exhibition Centre

Restriction code H1 says I can't travel on any train timed to depart before 0915 (not relevant), or JOIN at Glasgow Queen St or Central any service departing between 1643 and 1809 and some other services (also fine).

Yet try as I might, I can't convince any of the journey planners that this is a valid ticket -- they all try to sell me an Anytime return. What am I missing? With the new routeing guide, does that mean the ticket is not valid? Or do you only have to check NRE for the routeing, not the restrictions?

The scotrail site seems particularly broken -- it doesn't think the Off Peak Return is valid on a variety of trains on Sunday...

 

[St Rollox]

I'd take a guess that the vast majority of visitors to SECC/Hydro don't know there's a railway station on a couple of hundred yards away.
Seems like a hidden secret.

 

[John @ home]

I agree that there's a problem. My guess is that there's a bug relating to the creation of Partick as a Routeing Point in the new (Oct 2013) Guide. But that needn't concern you as you intend to travel by the shortest route.

According to the Network Rail timetable, these are the shortest routes:

Shortest route from Stirling to Exhibition Centre (Glasgow) (33 miles)
Stirling 0, Larbert 8, Croy 17.5, Lenzie 22.75, Bishopbriggs 25.75, Glasgow Queen Street 29, Charing Cross (Glasgow) 29.75, Partick 31.75, Exhibition Centre (Glasgow) 33.

According to RJIS, these are the shortest routes:

Shortest route from Stirling to Exhibition Centre (Glasgow) (33.31 miles)
Stirling 0, Larbert 8.09, Croy 18.08, Lenzie 23.33, Bishopbriggs 26.34, Glasgow Queen Street 29.58, Charing Cross (Glasgow) 30.37. Partick 32.07, Exhibition Centre (Glasgow) 33.31.

http://www.bukitlawang.com/routes/routes.aspx

I agree that a £8.10 STIRLING - EXHIB CTR GLASGW OFF-PEAK DAY RETURN is valid by your proposed itinerary. If you feel anxious about the risk of being challenged, print and carry the official version of Restriction H1 from http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/pdfs/CDR_H1.pdf.

 

[dtaylor84]

I agree that there's a problem. My guess is that there's a bug relating to the creation of Partick as a Routeing Point in the new (Oct 2013) Guide. But that needn't concern you as you intend to travel by the shortest route.

I agree that a £8.10 STIRLING - EXHIB CTR GLASGW OFF-PEAK DAY RETURN is valid by your proposed itinerary. If you feel anxious about the risk of being challenged, print and carry the official version of Restriction H1 from http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/pdfs/CDR_H1.pdf.

OK, thanks for the confirmation.

 

[St Rollox]

What would happen if you walked round to Glasgow Central from GLQ and took the low level 2 stops to the SECC.

 

[John @ home]

Depending on the time of the hour, you'd arrive at your destination a few minutes earlier or a few minutes later.

For the purpose of dtaylor84's query "Stirling to Exhibition Centre Glasgow & the new Routeing Guide", however, the important points are that

• the shortest route is always a Permitted Route, and
• the shortest route is measured by rail, ignoring any opportunity to achieve a shorter journey time by walking between stations.

dtaylor84 wants to travel by the shortest route Stirling - Exhibition Centre Glasgow. That allows us to say with certainty that this is a Permitted Route. There is no need to delve into the complexities of the Routeing Guide.