Great Western Coffee Shop

Train companies have been accused of confusing passengers by having vastly different rules on what constitutes peak-time travel.

Which? magazine said operators were not providing a consistent message.

Some such as East Coast trains began evening peak services in the afternoon while others had no restrictions.

The Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) said most people were able to buy the right ticket and get on the right train without any problems.

The magazine said the East Coast train company and West Coast Main Line operator Virgin Trains began their evening peak in the mid-afternoon. In the case of East Coast, that means the evening peak period last four hours. But Chiltern Railways and Merseyrail had no specific evening peak times.

Which? said: "You'd be forgiven for not knowing if you're coming or going, yet Atoc claims 'four out of five passengers are happy with their journey'."

The magazine said the fact that different tickets had different restrictions was also confusing.

For example people who bought super off-peak tickets were subject to more restrictions than normal off-peak tickets.

Other restrictions vary according to destinations and the train company that is offering the service.

For example, East Coast morning peak services to London end at 10.05 unless commuters have bought a first class ticket, are travelling using an off-peak day return ticket or travel card or have a super off-peak ticket. But Merseyrail and train company Northern Rail tend to have a set morning peak time - ending at 0930.

Which? also urged commuters to think carefully about where they begin their journey as that also can affect the amount they will pay for their ticket.

BBC transport correspondent Richard Scott said some train companies have recently been expanding the peak times, squeezing off-peak travellers into smaller time slots. One argument is that this manages demand by encouraging people off crowded services onto less busy trains. Of course it is also a way to make more money, he said. By redesignating trains as "peak", this allows train companies to increase fares without needing permission from the regulator.

An Atoc spokesman said: "Demand differs greatly at different times in different parts of the country, so it's not surprising that peak times vary. Millions of people travel on the railways every week and the overwhelming majority buy the right ticket and get on the right train with no problem whatsoever."

We see again ATOC trotting out the line that 'four out of five passengers are happy with their journey'.

Most businesses would be horrified if 20% of their customers were unhappy, but ATOC seem to wear it as a badge of honour!

Absolutely,  We need nationwide standard peaks.  Any difference that this causes in demand into different cities can be corrected by differential availability of Advances. 

Have just bought a Worcester - Fareham return for tomorrow. Travelling on the 06:45 from Shrub Hill, I qualify for an off-peak ticket. As it says in the exam questions, Discuss.

Only via 'NOT LONDON'......discuss further!

Or more specifically 'SALISBURY', which is valid from Shrub Hill after 0640.

but does the fare prohibit break of journey there?

Ticket Code:           BVR/SVR
Ticket Class:         STANDARD
Ticket Name:          OFF-PEAK
Single/Return:          RETURN
Out Validity:-               
Day  -          DATE ON TICKET
Time -               SEE BELOW
Return Validity:-             
Day  -      ONE CALENDAR MONTH
Time -               SEE BELOW
Break of Jrny: (OUT)       YES
   (RTN) YES (SEE NOTES BELOW)
Pre-Booking Requirement:  NONE
Reservations Compulsory:    NO
Child Discount:            YES
Railcard Discount:         YES
Group Discount:            YES
Refunds: SEE 'REFUNDS' SECTION

BREAK OF JOURNEY             
     
Off-Peak Singles and the outward portion of Off-Peak Returns are valid for travel on the date shown on the ticket.
Where a passenger wishes to stop overnight or the journey cannot be completed within one day, break of journey for an overnight stay is allowed.  
Where a journey continues into the next day, travel must resume before 1200 and any relevant time restrictions apply (except where regarded as an unbroken continuation of the previous day's travel where the first connection of the day may be taken).       
No further break of journey is allowed except for the purpose of changing trains.   
Please note that break of journey is not permitted on some journeys, as detailed_in the ticket restrictions.     
                             
Return portions of Off-Peak Return tickets are valid for travel until 0230 on the day following the last day of validity (i.e. one calendar month from the outward journey). If a passenger is still travelling at 0230, they may stay on the train to complete that part of the journey but no further break of journey is allowed and all travel must be completed by 1200.                         
                             
Note: Cross London transfers will only be accepted by London Underground on the date shown on the ticket (or last day of validity for Off-Peak Returns) and until 0429 the following day.

(Except Advance which are for a specified journey only and do not allow break of journey)

I have to say that I don't understand that text about break of journey on the outward half, so thanks for the explanation.

A question for any of you who are TMs - how on earth do you manage to check tickets like the one that I travelled on?