WAG Express question

[Captain Chaos]

Apologies if this has come up before.

I understand from reading ATW's website that you can purchase a Standard ticket and then upgrade to the premier service for an additional fare of £30-£50.

My question is this:

If I purchase a Standard PRIV ticket can I then purchase the premier upgrade?

I know it seems like a bit of a daft question but ordinarily I understand that you cannot usually upgrade PRIV tickets (except of course for things like WEF). Would I be correct in assuming this upgrade works similarly to that of a WEF upgrade in that ANY STD ticket regardless of discount method or ticket type can be upgraded?

 

[sonic2009]

Apologies if this has come up before.

I understand from reading ATW's website that you can purchase a Standard ticket and then upgrade to the premier service for an additional fare of £30-£50.

My question is this:

If I purchase a Standard PRIV ticket can I then purchase the premier upgrade?

I know it seems like a bit of a daft question but ordinarily I understand that you cannot usually upgrade PRIV tickets (except of course for things like WEF). Would I be correct in assuming this upgrade works similarly to that of a WEF upgrade in that ANY STD ticket regardless of discount method or ticket type can be upgraded?

Would a First Anytime Single with a Priv not be cheaper

Cardiff-Crewe £17.15 is an example.. Depending on where you are going?

 

[Captain Chaos]

Would a First Anytime Single with a Priv not be cheaper

Cardiff-Crewe £17.15 is an example.. Depending on where you are going?

It would be but only have a STD priv card so I cannot get 1st class priv's. :cry: (I would like to and would most certainly use it).

Incidentally Cardiff-Crewe is the journey I am looking to make.

 

[sonic2009]

I'm sure if you have a word with the Guard on the Day of Journey, he may not charge you to upgrade to 1st Class, but you will have to pay for the Food..

When i did it on my ALR, a member of ATW who worked in Head Office paid for his food when travelling in first class..

 

[yorkie]

I'm sure if you have a word with the Guard on the Day of Journey, he may not charge you to upgrade to 1st Class....

It's a lottery, and depends on the staff member. However I am told that, for some staff, if they were 'caught' asking they would be in trouble.

You cannot be sure of anything, when asking for a free First Class upgrade, whether or not you will be paying for the food.

The original question has been asked recently (last week!) but the answer was inconclusive.

It could be seen as reasonable to take the amount paid (e.g. PRIV standard class) from the appropriate fare (non-discounted first class) as the upgrade fee in this instance.

My recommendation is to contact ATW.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I'm sure if you have a word with the Guard on the Day of Journey, he may not charge you to upgrade to 1st Class, but you will have to pay for the Food..

When i did it on my ALR, a member of ATW who worked in Head Office paid for his food when travelling in first class..

Although this would be a good idea I don't think I will. Although most guards can be quite accommadating I don't want to risk any possible action being taken against me. I don't want to risk losing my staff travel facilities (or worse) for trying to get a cheap upgrade.
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It's a lottery, and depends on the staff member. However I am told that, for some staff, if they were 'caught' asking they would be in trouble.

You cannot be sure of anything, when asking for a free First Class upgrade, whether or not you will be paying for the food.

The original question has been asked recently (last week!) but the answer was inconclusive.

It could be seen as reasonable to take the amount paid (e.g. PRIV standard class) from the appropriate fare (non-discounted first class) as the upgrade fee in this instance.

My recommendation is to contact FGW.

My thoughts exactly. Don't want to risk getting into trouble for a cheap upgrade. It's very confusing though. It comes across on the website that it is a fixed price upgrade depending on distance travelled (similar in structure to that of a WEF upgrade which is possible on a PRIV).

According to Avantix Traveller the PRIV Single fare is £12.10. It shows the Premier Upgrade as a totally seperate ticket option at £35 (no discounts apply). Total cost of £47.10. Undiscounted FDS is £68.60.

The way this ticket appears to be issued suggests to me that it is issued in the same way as a WEF. Just unsure whether it it allowed. I guess (unless someone has already done this with no problems and can advise) my best bet may be to ask my employer or contact ATW. Thanks for the advice anyway guys. I will let you know how I get on.

 

[All Line Rover]

I'm not too sure what benefit he would gain from contacting First Great Western, Yorkie.

I believe (from what other people and ATW's Customer Relations department have told me) that you simply buy the upgrade on board from the guard, and can purchase it for any ticket (so I assume PRIV is included).

Obviously there's no guarantee that you will/will not have to pay for the upgrade. I suggest that you simply sit in First Class and, when the guard comes along, say: "Hi. I have a PRIV ticket and would like to upgrade to First Class. How much would that cost me?" The worst he could say is: "That'll be £35 please." The best he could say is: "Oh, it doesn't matter."

Considering the Premier Service is supposed to be ATW's "flagship" service, they must pick very friendly staff to run it!

 

[yorkie]

The worst he could say is: "That'll be £35 please."

That's not the worst they could say! Although it is what I would predict they would be likely to say. But I don't want to get into further speculation.

 

[All Line Rover]

That's not the worst they could say! Although it is what I would predict they would be likely to say. But I don't want to get into further speculation.

What is the worst he could say?

 

[island]

"That'll be a travel irregularity report, let's have your priv details and it's going to be cancelled for a year" or "you're going to be prosecuted for failing to pay before you travel", I suppose.

 

[All Line Rover]

"That'll be a travel irregularity report, let's have your priv details and it's going to be cancelled for a year" or "you're going to be prosecuted for failing to pay before you travel", I suppose.

Seems like an odd response to me!

Passenger: "Hi. I have a PRIV ticket and would like to upgrade to First Class. How much would that cost me?"

Guard: ""That'll be a travel irregularity report, let's have your priv details and it's going to be cancelled for a year."

?

He WOULD NOT say "you're going to be prosecuted for failing to pay before you travel" - I'm certain of that - because Arriva's Customer Relations have explicitly told me that the upgrade can be purchased on board.

 

[Rhydgaled]

Seems like an odd response to me!

Passenger: "Hi. I have a PRIV ticket and would like to upgrade to First Class. How much would that cost me?"

Guard: ""That'll be a travel irregularity report, let's have your priv details and it's going to be cancelled for a year."

?

He WOULD NOT say "you're going to be prosecuted for failing to pay before you travel" - I'm certain of that - because Arriva's Customer Relations have explicitly told me that the upgrade can be purchased on board.

I don't work on the railways (and never have), but that does sound like an odd responce. Maybe if you were sitting in 1st class when you asked the question you might get that sort of responce, but if you have a valid standard class ticket and find on-board staff to ask about the upgrade to 1st class before taking a seat in 1st class I would be supprised if there was anything worse than a hefty upgrade fee.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

According to the FRPP the upgrade is available to customers travelling on standard class walk up tickets only (not advance fares).

 

[All Line Rover]

According to the FRPP the upgrade is available to customers travelling on standard class walk up tickets only (not advance fares).

That's extremely odd. What is the FRPP by the way? According to Avantix nothing is mentioned about Advance tickets, and Arriva's Customer Relations department said that I could upgrade such tickets.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

The FRPP is officially now called 'the Manual', but it is basically a combination of the National Fares Manual (NFM) and the Guards handbook.

 

[Olympian]

According to the FRPP the upgrade is available to customers travelling on standard class walk up tickets only (not advance fares).

There's no mention of these upgrades not being available to advance fares HERE or HERE either.