Stuck in euston

[185143]

I wonder what time the buses run til in Liverpool. It would have been fortuitous if they had managed to get a bus, although I'm doubtful at that time of night.

Given Aughton Park is beyond the Merseyside boundary, I'm highly doubtful!

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I wonder what time the buses run til in Liverpool. It would have been fortuitous if they had managed to get a bus, although I'm doubtful at that time of night.

Per https://bustimes.org/services/310-skelmersdale-liverpool-via-holborn-hill-aughto?date=2025-02-22, the last bus from Liverpool to Aughton leaves at 2255 while the last train is at 2347.

 

[trainophile]

Per https://bustimes.org/services/310-skelmersdale-liverpool-via-holborn-hill-aughto?date=2025-02-22, the last bus from Liverpool to Aughton leaves at 2255 while the last train is at 2347.

I did think I might be a bit optimistic. I do wish the OP would check in and let us know he/she is okay.

 

[yorkie]

Im on the 8.12.severely delayed service. They said there will be coaches from stafford to liverpool lime street.

I asked about taxi but twitter chap goes people at station will advice once get there.

Surely uber has to be covered

My ticket was avanti to liverpool lime street.

Had connecting train on merseyrail to aughton from there but obviously i cannot make connection as there will not be one.

Will need taxi to get home hence qu about cover of taxi fare

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Feb 2025 ==


The comms was terrible. This train is going via birmingham to stafford

They are obligated to convey you to the final destination on your ticket(s).

If you had a valid combination of tickets through to Aughton Park at the start of your journey, then you are covered.

If you bought such a combination through us, we would support you in the event of a dispute.

For future reference, when seeking advice here, please inform us straight away of what ticket(s) you hold and your full planned itinerary.

If you are corresponding on Twitter, it's also wise to link to, and quote, the conversation.

This way, forum members can provide the best advice as soon as possible.

Also if anyone bought tickets from us, as a though journey, and has been mistreated and/or denied their rights by a train company, we would provide enhanced support where practical.

 

[redreni]

Hope the OP got home alright.

I note the OP was going to a MerseyRail station and had booked their ticket from London to Lime Street only. I think a lot of people - probably the vast majority - would do this. It's fine when everything goes well, but this thread illustrates why it can leave you in a materially worse position if things go wrong, compared with buying a through ticket, or a combination of tickets covering the whole journey, beforehand.

Increasingly, through tickets are priced such that it is cheaper to pay separately for connecting legs, which probably contributes to people only booking the main leg. Where PAYG is available, that undoubtedly contributes too, because people know they won't need a ticket for the local leg as they can just tap in and out.

I do wonder, though, if there's a further problem with MerseyRail (and London Overground, for that matter), in that they appear to be allowed to opt out of using National Rail branding on their trains and stations? How aware are people who's local station is on the MerseyRail or London Overground network that they can book a National Rail journey starting or ending at their local station? And the Elizabeth Line is even worse - you can't even collect pre-booked National Rail tickets at some stations. Nor can you use e-tickets.

Incidentally, does anyone know if MerseyRail is still being hostile to people with e-tickets, or have they dropped that nonsense now? That was another deterrent for anyone thinking of booking a through journey ending or, in particular, starting at a MerseyRail station.

 

[Gathursty]

Whilst it would only get you to Birmingham, when I sniff problems at Euston, I dash to Marylebone. That time of evening, I'd still be tempted to get to Moor St then pray to the God's as you walk to New St.

 

[paul1609]

I'd be looking at one of the coach apps and heading to Victoria Coach Station most of the northern cities have midnightish services that keep you warm and safe and drop you after public transport has started next morning.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Whilst it would only get you to Birmingham, when I sniff problems at Euston, I dash to Marylebone. That time of evening, I'd still be tempted to get to Moor St then pray to the God's as you walk to New St.

Might well work at certain times of the day/week, but how far North might the OP have got, if arriving at Euston on a Saturday evening and finding the 19:37 Avanti service to Liverpool Lime Street cancelled, and deciding instead to travel via Marylebone (assuming, of course, that they'd be let through the barriers there with an Advance Single routed 'Avanti West Coast' or similar)?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Incidentally, does anyone know if MerseyRail is still being hostile to people with e-tickets, or have they dropped that nonsense now? That was another deterrent for anyone thinking of booking a through journey ending or, in particular, starting at a MerseyRail station.

Paper tickets only on Merseyrail, unless you have a local fare on their Walrus cards.
You can get a local off-peak Day Saver as an e-ticket, checked manually at the barriers.
As Merseyrail has few ATMs on its network, you can also get TOD tickets (booked online) printed onto orange card at a booking office.
Every ME station has a poster with a stern warning about e-tickets issued by other TOCs or agencies not being accepted.

 

[tram21]

Every ME station has a poster with a stern warning about e-tickets issued by other TOCs or agencies not being accepted.

Slightly OT but has it been decided whether or not this is actually legal?

 

[Haywain]

Slightly OT but has it been decided whether or not this is actually legal?

It's not illegal to put up a poster, or for the poster to say something that is wrong or untrue (within certain parameters). That doesn't alter the fact that Merseyrail are obliged to accept a ticket that has been issued for a journey using their services regardless of the format in which it has been issued.

 

[Watershed]

It's not illegal to put up a poster, or for the poster to say something that is wrong or untrue (within certain parameters).

It could amount to an offence if it is deemed to constitute a misleading or aggressive trading practice. Of course, the odds of such an offence being prosecuted are essentially nil...

 

[redreni]

It's not illegal to put up a poster, or for the poster to say something that is wrong or untrue (within certain parameters). That doesn't alter the fact that Merseyrail are obliged to accept a ticket that has been issued for a journey using their services regardless of the format in which it has been issued.

Nevertheless, it might help explain why someone making a journey from London to a MerseyRail station via Lime Street may prefer to buy an e-ticket to Lime Street and then buy a paper ticket or use their Walrus card for onward travel from Lime Street.

Hopefully there are enough people willing to be awkward and insist on local and regional operators respecting integrated ticketing arrangements. If usage of these arrangements falls to low enough levels, don't be surprised if the current naked hostility to tickets issued by other agencies is replaced by proposals for actual formal withdrawal from wider ticketing arrangements.

 

[TUC]

Nevertheless, it might help explain why someone making a journey from London to a MerseyRail station via Lime Street may prefer to buy an e-ticket to Lime Street and then buy a paper ticket or use their Walrus card for onward travel from Lime Street.

Hopefully there are enough people willing to be awkward and insist on local and regional operators respecting integrated ticketing arrangements. If usage of these arrangements falls to low enough levels, don't be surprised if the current naked hostility to tickets issued by other agencies is replaced by proposals for actual formal withdrawal from wider ticketing arrangements.

It's not even a case of integrated ticketing arrangements. It's that another rail ticket retailer has sold an eticket which the retailing system in question has enabled them to sell. Merseyrail staff should not needpassengers to argue with them for them to understand that a validly sold ticket is a valid ticket and, if they are unhappy, it is for them to escalate internally for taking up with the retailer in terms of future purchases, not for taking up with the passenger now. It is fundamentally no different in principle than when a ticketing system quirk has sold an unusually cheap fare, or one by a non-permitted route. It's a system issue to address, not for the passenger.