URGENT - Help Needed!

[ChrisTheRef]

Hi guys, looking at travelling tomorrow, 24/05/09 (hence the urgency)

Travelling from Liverpool S Pway (LPY), firstly to Cuddington (CUD) which is a tiny station about 20 minutes from Chester on the Chester to Manchester line.

From there, I'd travel on to Wigan N Western (WGN) for the Wigan v Portsmouth game.

Finally, leaving WGN to travel back to LPY.


As far as times are concerned, I'm meeting a friend for lunch in CUD, so around 12 would be ideal. I'd need to be in Wigan by 3:30pm at the latest, as kick off is 4pm.

What tickets would I have to buy to complete the journey legally? PLEASE help!
Thanks in advance

 

[mathmo]

Liverpool South Parkway to Cuddington is awful by train - 1:48 to be precise, via Warrington and Chester according to at least one online journey planner. You should be able to buy a Liverpool S Parkway - Cuddington "via Chester" return (at £8.something) and then a Warrington-Wigan return (£4.70ish) to do this legally.

However, the service to Cuddington is only every two hours on a Sunday and I'm really not convinced it's possible to do your journey successfully at the times you want - it takes such a long time to get anywhere from Cuddington, and the direct trains Cuddington - Wigan arrive in Wigan at 14:23 and 16:23, which aren't much use!

 

[ChrisTheRef]

Thanks mathmo

I have:

0939 Depart LPY
1001 Arrive WAC
WALK to WBQ
1028 Dep WBQ
1059 Arr CTR
1108 Dep CTR
1127 Arr CUD
-----
1327 Dep CUD
1511 Arr WGW
-----
1839 Dep WGN
1849 Arr WBQ
WALK to WAC
1909 Dep WAC
1933 Arr LPY


Just worried that's not valid with the tickets you mentioned, particularly the CUD - WGW bit

 

[mathmo]

(OK, my times were wrong for some reason - your times are correct.)

No, that won't be valid with the combination I described. Your best bet is to buy a route "Any Permitted" return ticket from Liverpool S Parkway to Cuddington (£16.10), then a single from Manchester Oxford Road to Wigan (£3.10 - the Liverpool-Cuddington fare is valid until Oxford Road on the return), then a single from Wigan to Warrington (£4, use the first return ticket for the final leg). This saves you about £3-4 over three singles.

 

[dan_atki]

As mathmo said that combination exists for £23.20, although there is another for £23.10 (depends whether the hassle of an extra ticket is worth the 10p! )

1) Liverpool S Pway to Warrington Stns - Off Peak Day Return £4.80
2) Warrington to Cuddington - Off Peak Day Return £11.20
3) Manchester Stns to Wigan Wallgate - Off Peak Day Single £3.10
4) Wigan Stations to Warrington Stns - Anytime Day Single £4.00

Return portion of 2) valid upto Manchester Oxford Road as mathmo has already said.

 

[mathmo]

If saving money is much more important than time then you can save £3.90 by returning to Liverpool via Manchester (yes, really!). Just buy a Liverpool South Parkway - Cuddington Any Permitted return for £16.10 and a Manchester Oxford Road - Wigan Wallgate return for £3.20. Then take the 1836 from Wigan to Oxford Road at 1913, and the 1945 from Oxford Road back to Liverpool (arrive 2033), back on the first ticket. Just is an hour of your time worth £3.90?!?

 

[tony_mac]

what about this?
a return from Liverpool South Parkway to Chester £4.40
and a return from Capenhurst to Manchester - £12.90. I think this allows travel out via Chester (routeing point Chester) and return via Wigan (routeing point Hooton, map ML)

I think you would then have to return from Wigan via Liverpool rather than Warrington, but that won't be much slower.

I'm not entirely sure if you can use different routeing points for outward and return, but both are 'appropriate'.

 

[First class]

Erm lets not forget a Chester-Southport ticket is valid via Manchester and Wigan, and only priced at £4.40 return. This is because the direct train is always a valid route. Free to break your journey.

If I was you:

Buy a LPY-CTR CDR at £4.40
then CTR to SOP CDR at £4.40

TOTAL COST £8.80!

NRES AGREES THIS IS PERMITTED.

The amount of people that probably pay for Chester-Manchester at £11.80 single a time as well!!!

 

[tony_mac]

that's really good, but it wouldn't get him back from Wigan without retracing his route, would it?

I know it's too late for ChrisTheRef, but it's still interesting.

A £4.40 Southport to Chester CDR would be valid outward via Liverpool South Parkway, and then the return via Cuddington, Manchester and Wigan.

It's then £6.90 for a single from Wigan to Liverpool South Parkway.

Wigan to Liverpool is also on a permitted route from Chester to Southport, but I guess you can't officially use that, as the entire route actually used isn't permitted.