Great Western Coffee Shop

I purchase an off peak period return from Melksham to Portsmouth Stations last month, and travelled down to Portsmouth on the outward day at the very end of the month.

At the time of purchase, the intent was to return late this (8th May 2024) evening, however there are no suitable trains running.   Arriving on a ferry at 17:30, I am checking into a hotel for the night


I want to get home early tomorrow - already loosing time and incurring extra costs due to the rail industry failing to run the train I had planned to uses.  Will my off peak ticket by accepted from Portsmouth Harbour on the early trains, or am I expected to upgrade / buy an anytime ticket?

From the GWR website

Indeed - but having purchased a ticket limited to off peak trains today, can I use it on what would be a peak service tomorrow?    Not clear to me ...

Probably worth asking GWR via Twitter, if it's working today?

The website doesn’t specify validity according to time - just they are valid on the day so I think any ambiguity works in the customer’s favour.

Just out of interest, I've looked at SWR's strike ticket validity advice. They have the same information regarding validity being extended until 13th May, but they also state clearly that Off Peak times must be adhered to if you travel on an alternative day.

But, as we've seen GWR haven't included that caveat in their strike ticket validity advice.

If a ticket is not valid due to a time restriction then an excess fare is the normal procedure. You can probably easily talk your way past the gate line by saying you weren't able to travel on the strike day - they may not closely inspect your ticket. Show it, don't put it in the slot/scan it. Gateline may even be open if you're planning on getting the first train of the day. Conductor onboard even less likely to demand payment of an excess.

Worst case scenario - Excess Fare. If it's a Melksham - Portsmouth Stns Off Peak Return (via Salisbury) with Railcard that you hold then the excess fare will be £4.30.

Off Peak Return: £36.40
Anytime Return £40.70

You SHOULD NOT be penalised in any other way. A penalty fare or ticket irregularity report (TIR) would be wholly inappropriate in these circumstances. The National Rail Conditions of Travel (condition 9.5) clearly state that it's only an Excess Fare that can be charged if travelling at a TIME when a ticket isn't valid. We already know the day is valid thanks to the strike easement.

If you're forced into paying the excess then a sniffy complaint to GWR is warrented, asking for your money back. As bobm says, there's no caveat about time validity when travelling on a different day due to the strike action.

The caveat is mentioned - in the FAQ section:

Can I use an off-peak ticket to travel on any train?
No, peak time restrictions remain in place throughout the week.


https://www.gwr.com/strike

I'm not looking for a confrontation / fight with GWR, nor on principle pay them more to travel because of their failure to provide the timetabled service las night.  The first available off peak train from PMH to MKM is the 10:23 departure and either we will be on that one or an hour earlier and compete the journey home by bus.

Lisa and I have extended our holiday by a day - rather than transfer from the ferry terminal to the train at Portsmouth and Southsea, we checked into a hotel, had a nice meal last night and plan a breakfast before heading home.  We are very fortunate that we can take the extra day and stretch to the extra expense; many could not.

Many thanks to all four of you who helped dig / explain for me; we are resilient and will stick within the modified (!!) timetable for yesterday and the rules set about alternative travel, but it's another "micro" example of how the industrial woes of the rail industry and effecting - logistically and financially - their customers, to the extent of pissing off some of their strongest advocates.

Good luck with the journey home Graham.

Thank you.  Home.   10:23 from Portsmouth Harbour - to Bath Spa in the end and then the Faresaver bus to our home stop - here at around 14:20. 

Would have been 90 minutes earlier
- if we were both fit enough to walk from the local (Melksham) station
or
- if our lift from the Station had been available (like what it Woz last night),
or
- if the town bus in Melksham served the station
or 50 minutes earlier
- if we hadn't had to queue for the lift at Bath Spa Station and just missed the earlier bus (which, mind you, broke down on the way and we picked up the passengers off it!)

Ooops - reads like a grumble, but is isn't in any way. It's a reminder of the value of a plan B, and a plan C and a plan D - know what the options and fallbacks are and be accepting when you have to drop back down the alphabet.

---

Our cruise ferry had to wait outside Portsmouth Harbour last night as we drew near due to a banana freighter having trouble manooeving in the harbour - so a late arrival of both ourselves and another ferry ensued, and also left the ferry company needing the foot passenger bus in two places at the same time.   Again, we were laid back ... unlike the other foot passenger who was - err - panicked about her connection to the IoW;  not going into the details but I'm sure she got home even if she had to drop back one crossing or (horror) catch a b-u-s on the island. Attitude of mind!

Further trip reports to follow in "Frequent Posters"; this trip was something of a try out for us personally.

For all the complaints sometimes aimed at Southern Vectis as a near monopoly operator, it runs buses after midnight on the main routes and through the night early on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

There’s a thread on rail forums where someone has successfully claimed additional costs from GWR where a strike was announced after they’d purchased their tickets.
GWR refused numerous times, passenger issued a court claim for breach of contract for costs incurred and GWR paid up quite quickly.

Being on strike doesn’t dissolve them of their legal obligations in the contract entered prior to the strike being announced. Your hotel costs and a reasonable meal allowance would be reasonable to claim. They will reject and reject, so you have to be prepared to see it through to issuing a court claim

Here's the thread - interesting and worth a read.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/gwr-dispute-for-alternative-travel-expenses-industrial-action.263078/