First evening PAD-BPW where SSRs are valid

[whole diary]

[MrFlibble]

Hello all, newbie alert

I was hoping that I might ask for some advice on interpreting the regulations, as I'm getting confused (like lots of people...)

I need to make a number of return trips from Bristol Parkway (BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains)) to Kings Langley (KGL) over the coming months.  Naturally I'd prefer to avoid paying the SOR fare of ^208 (!) in favour of the SSR fare (^61.50), but I'm getting confused as to which PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-BPW trains I can use it on.

If I look on brfares.com for a journey from BPW to KGL, then an SSR is available, with restriction code XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)).

Looking at that restriction code for the return journey, it says...

RETURN TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
apply_from the stations listed below.  Tickets are valid:
On services timed to depart London Paddington between 1010 and 1501, and from 1901
[...]
TRAVEL FROM STATIONS NOT LISTED ABOVE:
Super Off-peak_tickets from stations not listed are valid for connections into trains departing as shown above
[...]

However, if I go onto the fGW booking site and try to buy a ticket for that route (for example: BPW-KGL return, depart after 1700 on 03/11/2014, return after 1600 on 13/11/2014), then it refuses to offer me the option of getting the 1915 PAD-BPW departure for the return journey, making me wait another hour until the 2015 departure.

So, what am I missing?  As far as I can tell, the 1915 departure from PAD is valid for the return portion of SSRs, and there's no restriction on the KGL-PAD section because it's not explicitly mentioned in the XC restriction and it's "connecting into" the 1915.

There's certainly a connection available (depart KGL 1741, arrive EUS 1808, depart PAD 1915), but it gets greyed out if I choose the SSR.

A couple of days ago I was trying to work out what was going on, and I'm sure I remember that the site was even refusing the use of the 1915 for SSRs that were explicitly BPW-PAD (rather than through-tickets to KGL), but that seems to have changed now (or my memory is failing me).

In case it matters, my route would be BPW-PAD-HRW-KGL using the Bakerloo Line rather than the "normal" BPW-PAD-EUS-KGL using Circle/Hammersmith&City because the interchange at HRW is so much easier than at EUS.

Curiously, thetrainline.com thinks that the 1741 connection to the 1915 is valid for a SSR, and furthermore that a SVR can be used on both the 1915 and 1845 departures from PAD, whereas the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) site thinks that SVR tickets also have to wait for the 2015 along with the SSRs.

I'm starting to think that there's a bug in the site...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks

[JayMac]

A quick check and it does appear that some booking engines are incorrectly disallowing travel on the 1915 with a Bristol Parkway to Kings Langley Super Off Peak Return.

I suggest asking FGW^▸ (First Great Western) what is going on here. I can't see any reason why it should be disallowed. trainline based booking engines appear to be applying the restriction correctly. Your cross London transfer to/from Harrow & Wealdstone instead of Euston would make no difference to the journey validity from Paddington.

If you are requiring seat reservations then use a trainline based booking engine - not the trainline.com themselves as they charge fees - I suggest South West Trains.

If seat reservations aren't required then you can book through FGW, simply select the later service. You won't be tied to it with a Super Off Peak Return and can legitimately travel on that 1915 departure from Paddington.

So, as I said, ask FGW what's going on. And do let us know what they say.

In the meantime, welcom to the forum MrFlibble. 

[chrisr_75]

Just going off on a slight tangent if I may? MrFlibble, are you aware of how busy that 19:15 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-Swansea train is? I would highly recommend a seat reservation if you travel that service and it helps to get to the train promptly as soon as the platform is indicated, or wait until the 20:15 which is generally much less heavily loaded in my experience. Depends on your tolerance levels of busy trains I guess, but thought I'd mention it in case you'd not experienced it 

[Mookiemoo]

Just going off on a slight tangent if I may? MrFlibble, are you aware of how busy that 19:15 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-Swansea train is? I would highly recommend a seat reservation if you travel that service and it helps to get to the train promptly as soon as the platform is indicated, or wait until the 20:15 which is generally much less heavily loaded in my experience. Depends on your tolerance levels of busy trains I guess, but thought I'd mention it in case you'd not experienced it 

1915 and 1930 are mostly full and standing to swindon

Even if you have seat reservation aim to get there 30  minutes before as  you need to be there as the train is announced - any later and you won't get to your reserved seat

[JayMac]

Judicious use of apps such as RealTime Trains can help you get a head start as to which platform the 1915 is due to depart from. Long before it is announced on screens. On days when there isn't disruption is should be formed from the 1700 Bristol TM^‡(resolve) - Paddington, arriving at 1844. Caveat though is that last minute changes and set swaps can, and do, occur.

Waiting on the footbridge at the country end rather than the concourse is also a worthwhile strategy.

[MrFlibble]

Well, I caught the 19:15 on Tuesday last week and it wasn't exceptionally bad - I expected it to be busy, but I don't think there was anyone standing in the carriage (I had already checked it on the National Rail app from the Bakerloo train on the way down, so I knew the platform before it was on the boards, plus I always use the quiet carriage (the one furthest from the entrance and therefore only the non-lazy people bother to go that far ).  Personally, I'd rather get back to BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains) at 2040 on a busy train than at 2140 on an emptier one, especially as the buses are every half an hour by that time, so I've probably got another 45-50 minutes before I actually get home, and that's if it's on time.

As for contacting fGW, I guess there's the moral dilemma - do I tell them so that they fix the site, or do I keep quiet so that people are discouraged from getting the 19:15, leaving more space for me 

[JayMac]

As I see it, if the booking engines are not corrected to reflect the actual restrictions, then people may be unnecessarily overcharged if they opt to book the 1915 and the 'Mixing Deck' websites are only offering the Off Peak rather than the allowed Super Off Peak. No moral dilemma there - the error should be fixed to prevent overcharging.

The Super Off Peak Return for that flow is also the regulated fare, so, without intervention from the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about), FGW^▸ (First Great Western) can't change the restriction times either.

[MrFlibble]

Actually it's much worse than that - they're not "upgrading" people from SSR to SVR, they're forcing people that could buy either SVR OR SSR tickets to buy the full-price SOR ticket (more than 3x the price of the SSR).

And the moral dilemma was "do the right thing" (tell the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) so that they fix it) vs "be selfish" (don't tell the TOC so that people not wanting to pay the SOR price move to the later train leaving more space for me)...

Anyway, I sent them a message last week.  No reply as yet...