Using other operators during delays

[sheff1]

So Northern, TPE and EMR accept each other's tickets during disruption. But if, say, you were booked on an EMR train from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Oxford Road. You turn up at the station in plenty of time and find the EMR train is running 30 minutes late (for example). Could you then get a Northern or TPE train to arrive in Manchester less late, or do you just have to wait the extra time for your late train?

I don't know what the announcements are at Lime St, but at Sheffield it something like "The xxxx (EMR) train to Liverpool is 45 mins late. Passengers for Stockport, Manchester, (other stations served by both), and Liverpool, your next fastest train is the xxxx (TPE) train to Liverpool Lime St".

As no mention is made of ticketing restrictions, I take that to mean passengers intending to travel on the delayed train have been advised to catch the next timetabled one as it will leave before the delayed one. I would be more than willing to argue the point with any guard etc (and any subsequent correspondance) stating otherwise if I was affected but, to date, I have not been. Regular observation of on train interactions show that many passengers do not understand the nuances of ticketing and/or do not even realise they have operator restricted tickets.

 

[MatthewE707]

So Northern, TPE and EMR accept each other's tickets during disruption. But if, say, you were booked on a specific EMR train from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Oxford Road. You turn up at the station in plenty of time and find the EMR train is running 30 minutes late (for example). Could you then get a Northern or TPE train to arrive in Manchester less late, or do you just have to wait the extra time for your late train?

And would an alternative reasonable route allow travelling to Manchester Victoria instead of Oxford Road?

Going back to my original scenario, what if your train into Liverpool was delayed, causing you to miss the EMR train you were booked on. Can you then use Northern or TPE, even though the EMR train wasn't cancelled, instead of waiting an hour for the next EMR train?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Jul 2025 ==

And, although going off the topic of the thread a bit, with a Manchester Stations to Stockport return (TPE only), can you use it for a journey from Stockport to Manchester Victoria (obviously yes), but breaking your journey at Piccadilly? I'd have though exiting the station at Piccadilly might count as the return leg completed, as Piccadilly is part of the Manchester Stations group. (although as it is TPE only, you have to change anyway - and it's a 53 minute change)

 

[Watershed]

Going back to my original scenario, what if your train into Liverpool was delayed, causing you to miss the EMR train you were booked on. Can you then use Northern or TPE, even though the EMR train wasn't cancelled, instead of waiting an hour for the next EMR train?

The wording of the standing ticket acceptance arrangement between EMR, Northern and TPE unfortunately doesn't appear to cover delays or missed connections, only cancellations. That seems quite an omission, and probably not an entirely intentional one at that.

And, although going off the topic of the thread a bit, with a Manchester Stations to Stockport return (TPE only), can you use it for a journey from Stockport to Manchester Victoria (obviously yes), but breaking your journey at Piccadilly? I'd have though exiting the station at Piccadilly might count as the return leg completed, as Piccadilly is part of the Manchester Stations group. (although as it is TPE only, you have to change anyway - and it's a 53 minute change)

Yes, your ticket is valid as far as Manchester Victoria and you can break your journey at any intermediate station (in practice that's just Piccadilly and Oxford Road). The fact that Piccadilly is a member of the Manchester Stations group doesn't mean you have given up all rights to continue to Victoria if you exit there.

That said, if you have a paper ticket it might be kept by the barriers at Piccadilly or Oxford Road, and an eTicket might be rejected for re-entry by the barriers. So you may have to speak to a member of barrier staff to be let out whilst keeping your paper ticket, or let in with your eTicket. The quality of barrier staff training on ticket validity, break of journey etc. is often low so it's possible you might encounter difficulties along the way. If you're forced to buy a new ticket, make sure to keep the receipt (and ideally the ticket too) so you can complain to customer services to get it back afterwards.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

That said, if you have a paper ticket it might be kept by the barriers at Piccadilly or Oxford Road,

I'm not disagreeing with this in general, but would note that the new barriers at Oxford Road don't retain tickets.