Thanks BNM,  great advice, as alway, much appreciated.

I’m looking at travelling out around 8.30/ 9.30, return the next day around 11.00.

Not too worried if it is peak, as long as its not a daft price, as it is on expenses.

I wonder why planners arent set up to  have the option to show different routes on each leg ?

Hello experts



I'd like to buy an off peak or anytime return from Salisbury to Cheltenham going via  ( and breaking my journey at )Stroud on the way, and via Temple Meads  on the return.

The journey planner doesn't seem to allow for this on its advanced options, and I'm not sure if they would both be permitted routes on a return ticket.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

Anyhow, a bit of an anomomly, or question.
A couple of times I have bought a split ticket on the train( because there is no ticket machine at Dean).
Tickets were Dean to Basingstoke ( anytime) and Basingstoke to Waterloo , ( off peak) on a weekday.

Both times I was given a full discount on the Dean to Basingstoke Section, reducing the fare for that portion below the £13 minimum.
Just got lucky, or is there a £13 purchase rather than £13 fare minimum ?Seems a bit unlikely.

And BTW^▸ (by the way), the strikes down here are really bloody annoying. And though I am usually on the side of employees, I can’t figure what it is they are fighting for.
Please feel free to enlighten me.
Cheers.

As you are doubtless aware , SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) has ordinary off Peak  tickets which can be used for peak trains out of London. Only super off peak are restricted.

I have options  for getting to London other than SWR, ( EG Newbury to Paddington instead of Basingstoke  to Waterloo )but I never use them because of the likelihood of needing to return in peak time.
Presumably GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) don’t want my business just after 4.00PM, so they don’t get it.

The EE signal between Basingstoke and Waterloo is really poor for mucch of the journey, given the built up nature of the area .

I recently asked at Salisbury to buy an off peak day return from Basingstoke to Waterloo on a Network Railcard  at about 9.30 AM, and  was told by the ticket office staff member that he had a message not to sell such a ticket until 9.45.

I was able to buy  the ticket during my change at Basingstoke, but is there really any reason to impose such a restriction, since I could presumably have bought it at a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine), or online ?

sorry, redundant advice , so edited !!

Thanks . I'll definitely put my point about Sunday services to the consultation. It looks ( to my amateur eyes) as if the weekday service is being tweaked to make departure times past each hour more consistent.

One point I will also make to the  consultation is about connectivity with the hourly Brighton service at Central.
It looks as though the new timetable will allow a better connection for the 07.32. However, looking from Salisbury direction, a good  connection between the Salisbury to Romsey service and the Brighton service each hour would make sense for those travelling from Salisbury or further north.

Re the TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine), I'll have to look more closely next time to see what the machine tells me. AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know), the super off peak only applies after 11.00 at weekends, which may be why the machine can't cope.

One other  thing to mention round here:
St Denys.  Because there are four platforms, It would be so useful to have an information board at entrance to the station , showing which platform to go to. At the moment , you have to go to the platform and hope you have picked the right one, certainly from the Adelaide Road side.

On Sunday, the  Salisbury /Romsey SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) service   seems to be hourly, as it is on weekdays. However, for some reason  the service only calls every two hours at Dean and Dunbridge.

I was wondering if there is any practical reason why this is ? the service calls at all the other stops, including Redbridge and Millbrook. If there is a time issue, you might think it might make sense to call at one or both of Dean and Dunbridge, ( where there is no other public transport on Sunday) and perhaps miss out Millbrook, which is a stones throw from Southampton Central, and where there are other public transport options.

Which would mean, most importantly, it would be easier for me to get to the football when it gets moved to Sunday.
Be interested in thoughts.

 Oh , and  a secondary, any good  reason why I wasn't offered the new(ish) weekend  off peak super save at Romsey TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine)  yesterday ?I'm 60p out of pocket !!

 

I tried a new ( for me) route this morning, from Dean to Eastbourne.
Usually drive, due to the minimum 2 changes, time constraints etc.
One of the things previously putting me off using rail is the connection at Central. The 07.02 from Dean ( 6.50 from Salisbury) is scheduled to arrive at 07.30, and the Brighton train departs at 07.33 leaving not much wriggle room. However the Salisbury/Dean train comes in to 3B, and the Brighton one leaves from 3A, so its a 20 second change. Worked like a dream today, and I had a decent trip to Eastbourne/Hampden Park at an excellent price, £28.10 anytime return.

My question is  two fold really. Firstly, the NRE^‡(resolve) search engine doesn't show the connection at Central as a viable option. I know it's only 3 minutes to change , but  if they usually use those platforms, with usual punctuality it is viable.
Second, and given that the two trains actually stand at the same platform,and it must be a useful connection for quite a few people ( I saw several using it today), couldn't a minute or two be found somewhere to make this a  really integrated connection?

Sorry, probably used the wrong terms, and showing amateur levels of understanding, but hope you get my drift !
Thanks.

Edit: after spending a lot of the day on Southern, I suddenly got the feeling that SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) passengers are a bit pampered...we have catering...sometimes....wifi ....sometimes ( although now limited to 30 MB total use).....although neither have charging sockets .No doubt regular Southern travellers are happy just to have a train to travel on.

Until recently, I have generally been able to get advance tickets from Andover to Norwich for journeys starting with the 07.35 Andover to Waterloo, for about £21 to £24 , which, TBF^▸ (To Be Fair), is great value.

It looks as though offers on these have more or less disappeared for trains going via Waterloo at peak time.
Any ideas why this is, or if it is likely to change again? it seems to have coincided with the franchise change.
Fortunately work is paying, and I can still get  the Liverpool St to Norwich section for £10 advance each way, so the cost is still sensible if I go from Basingstoke.

Any tips for fare saving on this journey ? I usually return from Norwich at 15.30.
Thanks.

Thanks Chris, I sort of assumed that was the case, and it may just come in handy one day.

If so, I'll speak to  the gate staff if the barriers are closed.

Just a theoretical question really, but it could result in practical advice.
I sometimes buy a day Travelcard from Basingstoke into Waterloo.
When I return to Basingstoke , the barrier retains my ticket.
If I wanted to return to London later in the day, ( perhaps by car)  would I  then be entitled to  use the Travelcard for the zones that I had already paid for, ?

...and while they are at it, they could do something about the seemingly almost daily signalling problems around Wimbledon/ Clapham .

Really sorry to hear about the problems  in and out of Paddington, must be miserable for anybody affected,

Checking a couple of fares just now, it looks as though an easement may have been allowed on the 09.59 from Grateley to Waterloo.
( That's if you can find a car parking space of course)



Edit: Ignore this, I was looking at fares on a 2 together, which allow railcard from 9.30.

Still don't understand why two together should have a preferential starting time to  Network Railcard, but there you go......