Valid route?

[David57]

I am looking at a journey for this Saturday, and would like to check if I would like to do is valid.
Using a SVRoff peak return (£50.55 with a railcard) from Northampton to Great Yarmouth, I know it is valid via Kings Cross and Cambridge, but would it be valid to travel via Cambridge, Newmarket, Ipswich and Norwich?
Just looking to cover some required track!
Thanks.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Looking at the Routeing Guide, Northampton is a Routeing Point, and Great Yarmouth takes Ipswich and Norwich as its RPs so we need to do a fares check.

• The Off-Peak Single for the full journey is £75.60 and the Anytime Single is £105.40. (At NFM64, the Standard Open Single was £43.00)
• The Off-Peak Single from Ipswich to Northampton is £66.60 and the Anytime Single is £84.50 (NFM64 SOS was £31.00), so Ipswich is a valid Routeing Point for Great Yarmouth for this journey.
• The Off-Peak Single from Norwich to Northampton is £75.60 and the Anytime Single is £105.40 (NFM64 SOS was £42.50), so Norwich is also a valid Routeing Point for Great Yarmouth for this journey.

The Routeing Guide gives permitted routes for both as "LONDON"....So concentrating on the London - Ipswich/Norwich section we have:

• London to Ipswich is valid on routes on map EA only
• London to Norwich is valid on routes on maps EA, KE and WA+AB

Of these:

• Map EA only permits the direct GEML route from Liverpool Street. so that's no use to us.
• Map KE only permits Kings Cross - Cambridge - Ely - Norwcih (via Thetford), so that's also no use.
• Maps WA+AB permit Liverpool Street - Cambridge - Ely - Norwich (via Thetford), so you're out of luck there as well

Whether a ticket checker would think it was a "reasonable" route, on the other hand, remains to be seen...Though the other issue you'd face is that of doubling back through Needham Market and Stowmarket when travelling between Ipswich and Norwich.

 

[Romilly]

Maybe consider an offpeak day return from Northampton to Newmarket at £36.75 (which seems to be valid via Cambridge or Stowmarket, although London to Stowmarket would involve a rail replacement bus and not all journey planners recognise validity via Stowmarket) which could be combined with an Anglia Plus One Day Ranger at around £12.55 after railcard discount.

 

[John @ home]

If you are making the whole journey from Northampton to Great Yarmouth and back on Saturday, then I suggest the following combination of tickets:

• Railcard Off-Peak Day Return Northampton - London (Euston) £18.80
• walk between Euston and Kings Cross
• Railcard Super Off-Peak Day Return London (Kings Cross) - Cambridge £11.40
• Railcard Anglia Plus Day Ranger £12.50

Total £42.70.

There are no time restrictions with any of these tickets on a Saturday. The Anglia Plus Day Ranger is valid for unlimited rail travel throughout all zones on the map on this page. It also includes some free bus travel in Norfolk, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Great Yarmouth, detailed on the same page. This combination of tickets would require you to travel via Cambridge on both outward and return legs of the journey.

 

[David57]

Thanks for your speedy relies!
I am outbound on Saturday, and returning Tuesday, I should have made that clear.
I suppose I could buy a single from Cambridge to Ipswich, £.9.10, with railcard, (I have some vouchers to use up, so there is no extra cost), and 'resume' my validity on my SVR off peak return from Ipswich...

 

[John @ home]

The Routeing Guide gives permitted routes for both [Northampton to Ipswich and Northampton to Norwich] as "LONDON"

It is true that the National Routeing Guide specifies that all mapped routes for a Northampton - Great Yarmouth journey are via London. But a journey planner such as TPE Mixing Deck also allows travel via Nuneaton, Leicester and Peterborough. Presumably, it calculates that this route is permitted because it is not more than 3 miles longer than the shortest route by rail. My own calculations show Rail Journey Information System (RJIS) figures of 185.32 miles via Nuneaton, Leicester and Peterborough, compared with a shortest route of 183.09 miles via Willesden Jn, Highbury & Islington and Stratford London.

I am outbound on Saturday, and returning Tuesday

Just looking to cover some required track!

In that case, the £50.55 Railcard Off-Peak Return Northampton - Great Yarmouth route + Any permitted may well be the best ticket for you. If you could tell us which sections of track you would like to cover (and what time of day you'd like to travel), we may be able to devise a suitable itinerary outward by one permitted route and return by another.

 

[David57]

I am 09.00 ish from Northampton, and 11.17 from Great Yarmouth.
I was planning to cover the Hitchin flyover, and Cambridge to Ipswich line on the outbound journey, that's all the track I want with this trip.

 

[30907]

I am 09.00 ish from Northampton, and 11.17 from Great Yarmouth.
I was planning to cover the Hitchin flyover, and Cambridge to Ipswich line on the outbound journey, that's all the track I want with this trip.

Cambridge to Ipswich, or just to Stowmarket?

 

[David57]

Just looked at my Rail Atlas...
Stowmarket....