TPE guard making claim regarding ticket validity

[Egg Centric]

To put it in TPE context, you can certainly do a day trip between Leeds and Manchester (as an example). The fifty miles thing might be a good starting point.

I don't agree with the suggestion at all but if we were to do it then it should be done in time not distance imo, given the variations of speeds on the network. But giving it even more thought if you were going to do this (which again I don't agree with per se; I just want low fares rather than faffing around with lots of types) is just have day tickets from everywhere to everywhere else. Let passengers decide what's a sensible day trip.

 

[Brent Goose]

As shorter journeys are only available as day returns and the absence of any real difference in price between singles and returns fares means spending the night away almost doubles the cost.

 

[sheff1]

Back in the 1970s you could get day returns over much longer distances. On that basis I might say "define traditional".

Indeed. No idea where the supposedly "traditional" 50 miles comes from.

I often used day returns for journeys from the West Midlands to Scotland and other lengthy journeys.

Day returns are currently available at weekends from Sheffield to London. Not sure when their availabilty midweek was withdrawn, but I would guess this century.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Apr 2025 ==

The aim of the TPE guard was to make clear that any split tickets (such as the ones commonly split at Grindleford/Hathersage) are not valid. That is correct and falls inline with the advisory on 14.3.

Well that is the whole point. Some splits are valid so the announcement was incorrect.

 

[45107]

The “50 mile’ rule for cheap day returns was introduced during a fares revision in 1985.

 

[island]

Back in the 1970s you could get day returns over much longer distances. On that basis I might say "define traditional".

Indeed.

The “50 mile’ rule for cheap day returns was introduced during a fares revision in 1985.

I don't know if that can be true. See for example Walton on the Naze to Marsh Barton, which is rather a lot more than fifty miles.

 

[AndrewE]

Train doesn't stop, then guard is right - two ordinary tickets split there are not valid. The only exception is for a combination involving an area-based ticket (ie the GM Wayfarer), but I'm quite certain the vast majority of tickets found to be split at Grindleford are two ordinary single or return tickets, which can only be used on the all stops train.

As for the guards announcement, good on them - they are preventing passengers being charged for full new tickets or, as seen on here a lot, penalty fares & prosecutions.

How? Did the guard say that tickets would be excessed? That would have been good. Or did they just give people the chance to buy another ticket online - which might not have been "valid" as the journey was already under way? Or maybe by just not doing a ticket check!

 

[185]

How? Did the guard say that tickets would be excessed? That would have been good. Or did they just give people the chance to buy another ticket online - which might not have been "valid" as the journey was already under way? Or maybe by just not doing a ticket check!

Quite a few people in this Disputes & Prosecutions section have asked for help after being caught on that route by Transpennine Express RPIs and reported for the offence of boarding with even *slightly* invalid tickets. Didn't you read them? You do know that RPIs can also use their discretion to sell a full new ticket? Like I said, good on the guard.

 

[Sleepy]

Back in the 1970s you could get day returns over much longer distances. On that basis I might say "define traditional".

You could even get Paddington to Cornwall day return with easement ! (This was in pre- Saver ticket days)

 

[NorthernSystem]

Did the guard say that tickets would be excessed?

If we included every single option under the sun, we'd still be making the announcement by the time we hit the platform at Stockport!