Super Off Peak Return. Bristol-London

[bnm]

Trying to buy this product online for journey out 16th, return 17th. Travelling via Bracknell (change Reading) to meet a friend then onward to Waterloo. On the return journey I want to leave London around 1430 and NFM 06 says that return travel is valid from Paddington or Waterloo between 1010 and 1501 or after 1900. WebTIS (Southern) will not let me select either the 1420 or 1450 departures from Waterloo.

Both WebTIS and NFM are produced by ATOS Origin, so you'd think they'd concur.

 

[devon_metro]

Restriction X
Valid on services departing London Paddington or London Waterloo between 1010 and 1501, or after 1900 (departing Reading, heading west (i.e. services passing through Didcot Parkway, Oxford or Newbury ONLY) between 1030 and 1530, or after 1900).

So it is valid.

 

[bnm]

Now, I realise I don't need to book specific services with walk-up fares, but I was looking for seat reservatios as well in the quiet carriage to/from RDG.

Re-reading the wording, it could be interpreted that you cannot travel through Reading after 1530, which tallies with the 1500 ex Paddington as the last Super Off Peak train until 1900. However that would mean that the last departure time from Waterloo via Staines would have to be amended in NFM. The 1501 time restriction works if you travel from Waterloo via Salisbury. It should specify an earlier time for journeys via Staines, but as it doesn't I'm gonna exploit the loophole.

Bring on the RPIs

 

[John @ home]

On the return journey I want to leave London around 1430 and NFM 06 says that return travel is valid from Paddington or Waterloo between 1010 and 1501 or after 1900. WebTIS (Southern) will not let me select either the 1420 or 1450 departures from Waterloo.

The wording of the restriction in NFM 06 is

FROM LONDON
See Note A below

Note A
Valid on services departing London Paddington or London Waterloo between 1010 and 1501, or after 1900 (departing Reading, heading west (i.e. services passing through Didcot Parkway, Oxford or Newbury ONLY) between 1030 and 1530, or after 18900

This is very poorly written. When is 18900? To make sense, I suspect that should be 1800) or 1900). But how is a member of the public supposed to work out which?

EDIT - A friend with access to The Manual tells me that 18900 is printed as 1900) in that document.

As written, the restriction states that departing London Paddington or London Waterloo between 1010 and 1501, or after 1900 is the same thing as departing Reading, heading west between 1030 and 1530, or after 18900. Even allowing for the typo in the last time, this is not the case at all. The 1420 and 1450 from Waterloo meet the Waterloo restriction but fail the Reading one.

Someone has coded the restrictions with an AND instead of an OR.

 

[Greenback]

Yes, it is poorly written. historically, the train restrictions were the same from Reading as from Paddington so as to effectively bar someone travelling from Waterloo as a way of getting around them.