Validity of SWR Evening Out Return at Surbiton

[Phil RF]

I was looking to see if I could do my journey tomorrow (Fleet to Surbiton rtn) on an Evening Out ticket, but the National Rail app tells me I can't use the return portion before 7pm. The conditions on the SWR website say that an EO return to London & back can't be used from Waterloo, Vauxhall or Clapham Junction before 7pm but makes no mention of other London stations.

I am fairly sure in the past I have used a EO ticket earlier than this from Surbiton. Am I mistaken in this, or have they tightened up/changed the rules? And if you can't for example catch your return train from any London station before 7pm why don't the rules say so?

 

[Watershed]

They must have changed the restricitons for Evening Out tickets fairly recently. Restriction code BE, which applies to a Fleet to Surbiton Evening Out fare, says that the return portion is now not valid at all (from any station) until 7pm.

That seems a very significant increase in restrictions compared to before, from what I remember.

 

[jfollows]

From https://www.brfares.com/!faredetail?orig=FLE&dest=SUR&expert=on&flow=0&multi=0&fare=9&tkt=EVB

Return Travel​
Not valid on trains timed to depart after 04:30 and before 19:01.

It could be that previously this ticket had restriction BD, which would have been fine from Surbiton earlier.

 

[Craig1122]

They must have changed the restricitons for Evening Out tickets fairly recently. Restriction code BE, which applies to a Fleet to Surbiton Evening Out fare, says that the return portion is now not valid at all (from any station) until 7pm.

That seems a very significant increase in restrictions compared to before, from what I remember.

I suspect the original restriction was set up incorrectly as it didn't seem to match the intention of how the ticket would be used (To promote evening travel away from the peaks) and it opened up a number of loopholes. There have been a few other SWR priced tickets with similar anomalies over the past few years.

 

[Phil RF]

Thank you everyone. I may just stay out a bit later. It also means the Travelcard dodge has been ended, as with a Travelcard you could catch an early train home from Waterloo, Vauxhall or CJn as long as it stopped at Surbiton

 

[jfollows]

There are no evening restrictions with a Travelcard?

 

[Phil RF]

There are no evening restrictions with a Travelcard?

No, from your link "Evening Out Travelcards are valid at any time where journeys are wholly within London Zones 1-6".

 

[Watershed]

There are no evening restrictions with a Travelcard?

Within Zones 1-6, there are no evening restrictions. But the evening restrictions apply for the element outside Zones 1-6.

Frustratingly the evening restrictions also don't apply if you buy an Evening Out ticket to somewhere "before" Zones 1-6 - e.g. Esher. So it's literally just the Esher-Surbiton "ransom strip" where evening restrictions are unavoidable.

 

[jfollows]

I understand, I hadn’t realised there is an Evening Out Travelcard as well as the normal one.

 

[Phil RF]

I understand, I hadn’t realised there is an Evening Out Travelcard as well as the normal one.

You can add a Travelcard to any day return to London

 

[JonathanH]

You can add a Travelcard to any day return to London

I don't think that is true. They are different ticket types. What you mean is that in most cases where there is a day return to London, there is a corresponding out-boundary travelcard available.

For example, from Redhill
* you can buy a super-off-peak day return, an off-peak day return, and an anytime day return to London Terminals.
* you can only buy an off-peak day travelcard and an anytime day travelcard, there is no super-off-peak day travelcard.

From Reading
* you can buy "any permitted" and "via Staines" day returns to London Terminals
* you can only buy "any permitted" day travelcards.