Great Western Coffee Shop

Some questions:

How far ahead can you book a megatrain fare?

Is there an "alert" system (like on thetrainline.com) which tells you when the fares come out?

Do you get a compulsory booked seat?

Are they available in the Summer months?

Many thanks if you can answer (some of) these!

Regards,

Btline :)

http://www.megatrain.com/uk/timetables/

To anyone seeking ultra budget travel, but living in the northern reaches of FGW land, megabus is probably of more interest, (same URL). Otherwise, megatrain services run from Exeter, Weymouth and Pompey to London Waterloo.

Thanks, but this url only shows routes. Is there a url which can answer my questions?

They are available when and where they choose. I've never found a decent fare on a train, always on a hideous coach journey.

Well I found some times ....

http://www.megabus.com/uk/timetables/london_bristol_train.php

Why not email them your questions and post the answers here  ;)

According to the help section of the website, booking opens no more than 45 days in advance. Seems a little small..... ???

It looks like you only get a number, which you have to quote to barrier staff, guards etc. (sounds fun... :o )

On SWT, a coach is reserved for megatrain passengers.

They call the number a reservation, but obviously, it is not a seat reservation!

The fares look very good  ;D BUT:

Seems very weird to me! Has anybody here gone through the process?

ive never been able to book a megatrain!! the website is useless why advertise tickets that dont exist? why not just have a list of the actual tickets available and how many are left?

I've never actually used one but I believe they're (not surprisingly) very inflexible. Unlike some tickets you can't get off short of the destination e.g. Clapham Junction, otherwise you'll be treated as not having a valid ticket. You obviously can't break your journey either. While in theory you could get off at an unbarried station I think the staff at the barriers have a list of booking references, so if they don't tick yours off it could lead to problems.

It sounds as though you're best sticking to advance purchase tickets - they seem to be easier to buy on SWT routes into London than FGW routes in my experience.

Surely you mean, "whilst in practice you could get off at an unbarried station, as a matter of law you would be travelling illegally on an invalid ticket"?

Similar conditions apply to Advance tickets: you cannot break your journey or alight short of destination using these. Were you to do so at a barriered station you would be liable to an excess or possibly even penalty fare.

I am sure that you know the rules but just to clarify your post for the benefit of everyone - there is no distinction between barried and non-barriered stations in the ticket rules. 

If you alight-short on a ticket that does not allow you to do so you will be liable to an excess/penalty/prosecution regarless of whether the station is barriered or not. 

At a barriered station you may be more likely to be caught, but the fraud is committed regardless of whether or not there is a barrier.  I wouldn't want this board to be seen as promoting ticket fraud.  Anyone who does it must be prepared to take the consequnces. 

Quite right.  Always best to give the correct information even if it is not you want to hear. 

Thats Interesting...!

Whilst i'm not condoning any such activities

I had a booked and Advance Ticket from Birmingham New Street - Bristol Temple Meads. However due to circumstances beyond my control with regards to my erm... "Stress Levels"  ::) I had to get off at Bristol Parkway. I had a bag so I went to the human at the ticket gate, who just asked if I was aware that I was at Parkway and not Temple Meads which I said I was, and no more was said ;D

*reminds self not to do so ever again ;D *

Sorry, yes I meant in practice. What I was trying to say is that it's more likely that anyone not abiding to the terms of use of a Megatrain fare would have a higher likelihood of being caught out than an advance fare.

That said, I obviously don't condone ticket fraud in anyway. If you want the advantages of an advance fare, you have to accept the lack of flexibility and abide by the terms. If you deliberately choose not to, you can't complain if you're caught out.

Yes, fair point, I should have made that clearer. As others have said alighting short or breaking journey with an advance ticket is fraud regardless of whether a station has barriers or not.

Interestingly though if you are using an Advance ticket, I think I'm correct in saying you are permitted to go outside the barrier in order to use station facilities (toilets, shops, refreshments etc) at gated stations where you make a booked change of train (as long as you catch your booked onward service, of course). I have certainly never been challenged by barrier staff when I have asked to do this in the past. A break of journey is only technically made when/if you leave the station premises.

I think you are correct that you can cross the barrier line and then re-enter on an advanced ticket.  I have done this a few times at BTM to visit Smiths or the ticket office and noone ever minds. 

Will the automatic barriers let you through or do you have to show your ticket? Do the automatic barriers allow you through when you have open tickets that allow break of journey? When I was a student with more time on my hands I used to enjoy taking advantage of the break of journey on return legs of a saver ticket.

I'm afraid I plead guilty to that one... :D At Bristol Temple Meads there is a very good Wetherspoon Pub on Temple Quay which does an excellent coffee ;D

Something worth noting at some stations the toilets are located on the ticket office side of the barrier, if your changing trains and need to spend a penny does that count as a break of journey. I would be inclined to say no because you haven't left railway property...? I'm sure someone will know ;)

A break of journey is when you leave the station, not when you cross the barriers.  On tickets that prohibit break of journey you are therefore allowed to cross the barriers to reach the station cafe/toilets/newsagents/ticket office/timetable racks and I have done all of these things.  Just ask a member of staff rather then using the automatic gates. 

I'd emphasise that even tickets that DO allow break of journey won't usually operate barriers at intermediate stations. There would be far too much additional data required for the gates to process every possible permutation of journey through the station, from what I've gathered elsewhere.

Paul

I assumed the ticket gates were linked to a server which holds all the appropriate data. I've seen the CAT5e Network Cabling connections when a barrier staff member took one apart, which leads me to believe thats true!

I'll put my IT/Network Engineer coat back in the cupboard now :P ;D ::)

If I need to break the journey at Bath, The ticket gates don't give me any trouble. The Bristol Ticket Gates however aren't so understanding... :P ;D ::)

Ticket gates seem inconsistent with breaking journeys.

I'm generally a bit bothered about the exit gate swallowing a ticket if I'm breaking my journey so show it to the barrier staff. When entering a station though I know that the gates at Bath will accept a ticket from Bristol (heading east, of course) and that when I've alighted from a rail replacement bus at Swindon during engineering work the barriers there have accepted my ticket and allowed me through.

You're right about the barriers from Bristol - for example they won't accept a Keynsham - Oxford ticket (they should because Keynsham to Oxford via Temple Meads is a permitted route even though it's a "double back")