Train Cancellation - want to double check my understanding is correct

[Egg Centric]

I currently have a booked itinerary for today:

15:59 Durham - Northallerton
16:33 Northallerton- Kings Cross

With tickets both first class off peak singles, splitting at Northallerton, routed Trans Pennine Express and Grand Central only respectively.

Unfortunately for me the 15:59 has been cancelled.

There is currently ticket acceptance as far as York or Leeds with LNER but no further.

Since there is a much later Grand Central train departing York at 1912 I can’t insist on LNER taking me to Kings Cross, can I? In fact can I even insist on them taking me further than Northallerton? At least there’s a pub at York…

So my options are to throw myself at the mercy of train managers (and given how busy the trains are am unlikely to be given it) or suck it up and claim 100% delay repay.

Have I missed anything?

 

[yorkie]

As your delay would be more than 1 hour, you are entitled to be re-routed. However LNER may be reluctant to carry you, and getting another operator to convince them is going to be difficult, to say the least.

As you will be on an LNER train from Durham, I would suggest asking that Guard if you can stay on, to avoid a huge delay.

If you are forced to take a delay, I'd visit the First Class Lounge (and perhaps York Tap if you don't mind spending some money!) to fill the time, and put in a 100% Delay Repay claim to TPE and a complaint to LNER that they didn't let you continue your journey. You could occasionally go from the lounge/tap to ask a Guard of another LNER if they will carry you; a lot of the trains will use Platform 3 in which case no need to even use any steps and it's not far to go back to the lounge/pub again.

LNER may refuse access to the lounge, but given ticket acceptance is in place, if they refuse to carry you, the least they can do is allow lounge access.

It really depends on the staff; LNER have some great pragmatic stuff but also some pretty bad ones too. More of them seem to be on the good side these days so I'd rate your chances as pretty good.

 

[Watershed]

I currently have a booked itinerary for today:

15:59 Durham - Northallerton
16:33 Northallerton- Kings Cross

With tickets both first class off peak singles, splitting at Northallerton, routed Trans Pennine Express and Grand Central only respectively.

Unfortunately for me the 15:59 has been cancelled.

There is currently ticket acceptance as far as York or Leeds with LNER but no further.

Since there is a much later Grand Central train departing York at 1912 I can’t insist on LNER taking me to Kings Cross, can I? In fact can I even insist on them taking me further than Northallerton? At least there’s a pub at York…

So my options are to throw myself at the mercy of train managers (and given how busy the trains are am unlikely to be given it) or suck it up and claim 100% delay repay.

Have I missed anything?

As the delay by sticking to the next GC service would be far more than an hour, you should ask TPE to re-route you to London at the earliest available opportunity. They could do this by giving you permission to take LNER all the way, or by buying you a new ticket or providing you with a free excess. I would contact them via Twitter to get a quick response, in writing.

You can board an LNER service at least as far as Northallerton in any event, due to the standing ticket acceptance that's currently in place on LNER for TPE cancellations.

If TPE refuse to re-route you, as could well happen, then you should buy a new ticket(s) for LNER - though as above, you're OK to board as far as Northallerton, and there's nothing lost by seeking out the TM to see if they'll let you travel down to London without buying a new ticket. You would then contact TPE to recover the cost of these ticket(s).

 

[Egg Centric]

Going well so far…

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==

(Just about to get off at York and find staff)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==

(Update: been let on a service by train manager, won't specify exactly which one incase LNER would object)

 

[Deafdoggie]

As your delay would be more than 1 hour, you are entitled to be re-routed.

I never get the point of this entitlement as it appears to be worthless in most cases.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I never get the point of this entitlement as it appears to be worthless in most cases.

It's an EU right that is more born out of the airline style operations over there, i.e. if SNCF delay your TGV three hours you are not, unlike a flight, required to wait for that specific TGV. It is only sort of applicable to the UK which has a different approach to things, and if we were going to implement it properly here we would specify rights more applicable to our setup e.g. "if you would be delayed by more than an hour on your TOC or train specific ticket you may use any train(s) via any reasonable route".

 

[Egg Centric]

It also, if my conversation with Jack is representative, appears to be a right that is in any case ignored.

If they did reroute me I assume the stuff about not doing first class in LNER because it was grand central/tpe tickets is drivel? Certainly the train manager on LNER doesn't seem to have a problem with it and I am enjoying my complementary G&Ts

 

[yorkie]

If they did reroute me I assume the stuff about not doing first class in LNER because it was grand central/tpe tickets is drivel?

Who said that? It is drivel.

Certainly the train manager on LNER doesn't seem to have a problem with it and I am enjoying my complementary G&Ts

Great to hear; you were accepted all the way to KGX?

 

[Egg Centric]

Who said that? It is drivel.

"Jack" (see WhatsApp screenshot above)

Great to hear; you were accepted all the way to KGX?

Yes - although not on the 1640, I got off that at York for "safety" and took another not long after where I was able to speak to the TM in advance.

 

[yorkie]

Ah, I see.

Sadly several TOCs lack sufficient safeguards to ensure that employees who are supposed to give out travel advice are giving out appropriate and correct advice.

That's about as polite as I can word it!

If in doubt regarding any advice you are given, always check here.

 

[Kite159]

Some TOCs sadly simply go "la la la" when it comes to the rail passengers obligations law and right to be re-routed if the delay is going to be over an hour.

Sadly I suspect nothing will ever change unless they end up in court.