Fare Anomalies

[whole diary]

[eightf48544]

As I've posted before I am booked through Standedge Canal Tunnel, picking up the boat at Slaithwaite.

I've book the 10:48 GC^» (Great Central Railway - link to heritage line) Train KX to Bradford as far as Mirfield (with Senior Railcard) at the extortinate price of ^7.15. The onward fare from Mirfield to Slaithwaite is an even more extortinate ^1.70! Which will have to be bought on the train as Mirfield station seem to have no facilities whatsoever apart from platforms! Should I use my credit card and get my cash back from the bank?

Oh yes as well, it seems I could only book the very cheap GC ticket via their website and not through Chiltern whom I normally use.

If I look up fares from King Cross to Salithwaite using the  same GC train I get ^64.90 via Mirfiled or ^15.60 via East Coast at Wakefield Westgate. Both routes call at that other delightful Wakefield Station Kirkgate.

Please explain!

[ChrisB]

TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) are entitled to sell special offer tickets via any medium they choose - just as any other commercial retailer does.

[Southern Stag]

Strange. They aren't special offer tickets, just normal Advance Purchase tickets and they should be available to purchase via any of the normal methods. The FGW^▸ (First Great Western) site shows the cheap Grand Central AP fares but Chiltern's site only shows the walk up fares.

[brompton rail]

Even stranger given that Grand Central and Chiltern are owned by the same parent company - Arriva (DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about)).

[John R]

Here's another fare anomaly. The 0715 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) to SWI^» (Swindon - next trains) for tomorrow is showing as an off peak ticket with the fare less than half the price of the anytime fare quoted for the services either side of it.

Probably to do with the fact that the service is running to some wayside halt called Castle Cary, but curious nevertheless. Reported as full and standing west of Didcot today, so maybe it was market day in Castle Cary today.

[chrisr_75]

Here's another fare anomaly. The 0715 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) to SWI^» (Swindon - next trains) for tomorrow is showing as an off peak ticket with the fare less than half the price of the anytime fare quoted for the services either side of it.

Probably to do with the fact that the service is running to some wayside halt called Castle Cary, but curious nevertheless. Reported as full and standing west of Didcot today, so maybe it was market day in Castle Cary today.

I wonder why a once a year cattle market should get preferential fare treatment like that? Do any other major events see such an anomaly I wonder?

Fortunately I need not worry about fare anomalies or sardine can trains as I'm driving this week...!! 

[ChrisB]

Too big a market to turn down....

[chrisr_75]

But there are typically 6 or 7 rugby internationals plus a few domestic finals at the Millennium stadium each year. Sell out capacity 74,500, say (very finger in the breeze, please don't flame me!) lets say half the attendees for the internationals might be a potential traveller on FGW^▸ (First Great Western), that total of just over 200,000 is roughly similar to the number of attendees to the Castle Cary cattle market...but they apparently don't reduce prices/ease ticket restrictions for those sporting events, let alone even bother to run a few trains at times when people need them to get home...! Bizarre!

[thetrout]

Yes. I forgot about this Cattle Market thingy in Castle Cary...

I decided to use a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) service to Taunton today before heading up norff. The plan was to meet an attractive XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) HST @ Taunton to secure extended HST Bashing enjoyment. Two words. NEVER AGAIN!

I do not know where to start... I received a barrage of "evil eyes" on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) HST after I was given a coffee by a staff member who knows me far too well and no-one else got one...

Oh, and my polite suggestion to some nice folk surrounding the possibility of exchanging thetrout's position with their Cattle Market Sales Merchandise which was temporarily stored in the toilet, was met with severe disdain, many frowns and grumbles.

The worst part though... How could they even do it to me??

WHY WAS THIS AT TAUNTON?!?!



Further to insult. The above object was terminated at Birmingham New Street where I had to alight anyway. Only to be substituted from Birmingham New Street by this:



At Taunton when presented with this information... My Face:



The proper train was in Birmingham New Street... Go home Crosscountry... You're drunk!

Actually... Maybe the HST was sulking about having to work during the cattle market week?



(In case you hadn't realised... The ranting was meant to read in a humorous way... The HST being in the wrong place was still disappointing though )

[readytostart]

EMT^» (East Midlands Trains - about) failed the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) at NL overnight, double sets reduced to singles along with some part cancellations, HST brought back into service after repair, unless EMT knew Trout's plans at 0300 it wisnae deliberate!

[eightf48544]

Something we were discussing on the Railtour.

If I buy my ^1.70 single online from Chiltern, with my cashback credit card and pick up the ticket from Taplow station how much money will Northern get? Also Mirfield is used by Great Central so do they get a rake off!

[SDS]

Chiltern get a percentage as the seller. Think its 9% or so. Might even be as low as 5% now days.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) will in effect charge Chiltern a ToD fee. Or is it that FGW get a percentage of the ticket?? Which is why some unscrupulous online Ticket companies used to charge you for picking up tickets at a machine. (Why am I thinking RailEasy).

The majority of that ticket will go to ORCATS^▸ (Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Services) which I reckon once RSP and ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here) take their cut, prob around 75-80%. GC^» (Great Central Railway - link to heritage line) wont get any ORCATS revenue unless they stop at both stations.

This is my own opinion but ORCATS and LENNON^▸ (Latest Earnings Nationally Networked Over-Night ) keep changing.