Great Western Coffee Shop

Is it time to change ticket restriction rules?   Instead of "Only valid on trains scheduled to depart at or after 19:01", should the restriction be "Only valid on trains departing or scheduled to depart at or after 19:01"?  It's pretty galling standing around and watching trains leave which you could be on when the restrictions have supposedly ended but for the fact that they're late-running ones that should have gone before the watershed and are likely to be holding up the trains behind too ...

Modern clocks, watches and online systems provide us with accurate times and running data.

It seems unfair that currently we should be asked to pay more to travel at an off-peak time when delays are caused by [not us - rail industry]

I appreciate  that at times of extreme delay / disruption, discression is shown and ticket restrictions may be lifted.

How's that going to work, Graham? Foreseeing peak ticket holders all flying back to the ticket office for refunds when their train is 10 minutes late departing....

My original thought was to simplify the rule to "trains departing" rather than "trains scheduled to depart", on the basis that Jo Public travels at time "xx:xx" and really doesn't care if he's on the xx:xx train, the xx:xx-15, the xx:xx-30, etc.   However, that would give problems at the start of the evening peak when fares go up ... the 16:25 gets held up to 16:35, and the revenue team make a killing by surcharging everyone.

"I don't know how it's going to work" is my direct answer, ChrisB ... when we get to mobile / oyster stile ticketing for National Rail / long distance journeys, the system may be such that I could give you a better answer.   To some extent, the customer role is to ask, constructively if possible, and for the supplier to work out how he can supply.

If I've got an off peak ticket and I've been waiting for half an hour or more during times of delay, I'll get on the first train that comes in, and whether it's nominally a late running peak service or not, I'd wish the clippie the best of luck in trying to get me to pay a surcharge!

In my experience they tend to use common sense in these scenarios.

Exactly, not worth the aggravation.