I'm setting up information / a package for guests to visit us for the weekends - travelling down by train from London [to Melksham] on a Friday evening and returning to London on a Monday morning. And I looked at the weekend of 11th to 14th September through the
FGW▸ online timetable. 17:45 ex Paddington on Friday, 06:40 or 07:17 ex Melksham on Monday morning. So far, so good. And, better, a 24.50, book on the day, super off peak fare on the 06:40 on Monday morning. Only fly in the ointment - a best walk-up fare of 64.00 in the other direction, and a term of sale on the super off peak SINGLE when I clicked on that link that says:
Your outward journey must be on super off-peak trains on the date specified, and you must return on super off-peak trains within one calendar month. Super off-peak times vary by route - our journey planner only shows super off-peak tickets on trains for which they are valid.
Which, as I read it, means you can buy super off peak singles but you have to buy them in pairs (!) - perhaps going out one route and back a slightly different way? Other parts of this Ts and Cs page refer to super off peak RETURNS, but this part very noticable does NOT, and the page title is cleary for ALL Super off peaks. See:
http://www.fgwtickets.co.uk/Buy_Tickets/Matrix/display_ticket_terms.asp?ticket_type=SSS&routing_code=00000The criteria for my guests are:
a) Travel London to Melksham after work on Friday, and back in time for work in London on Monday morning; a few hours of extension to the weekend are fine - so a departure from London as early as 16:00 on Friday, and an arrival back there as late as 10:00 Monday, would be fine.
b) Train all the way to Melksham (but changes OK). They will NOT be prepared to switch to a bus or taxi (for more that a mile of two) on their travel to and from destination, and we cannot set a precendent of picking them up from another town.
c) We need a known and quotable fare, with a budget limit of 75 pounds per person return; ideally, bookable up to and including the time of outward travel, but advanced booking OK if it is not a limited seat lottery. I can say "if you book at least 7 days ahead you will pay 22.50" but NOT "you rail fare will vary between 8.50 and 74.00 depending on how far in advance you book - you'll have to look it up online or phone in yourself and see what's available".
d) I do not want to offer options that involve split ticketing if I can help it, nor do I want to use different London termini for different directions.
SO ... the question comes "what trains are available for 24.50 from Paddington to Melksham?" ... so that we can put together the 50 pound package. I can't see them, so phone call to the enquiries line.
"London to Melksham". "Can you spell that?" I always have a sinking feeling when that come up. "When do you want to travel?" Dates given. "What time of day?" "Friday evening, Monday morning". I am offered the 17:45 on Friday evening, and (!) a train at 19:47 on Monday EVENING going back. "I asked for the morning" "Hang on - I will ask my supervisor". [pause]. "There is only one train a day from Melksham". "Are you sure". "Yes - it's a very limited service". "So that's the nearest you can offer me to Monday morning?". "Yes". "I am online and my computer is telling me about trains at 06:40 and 07:17 - I have rung to ask about fares on those trains, but you are telling me they don't exist?" "I will ask my supervisor". [pause]. "Yes, there ARE trains at those times too". "So why did you tell me there was only one train a day, and that it was 10 hours after the time I asked for, when there are at least three trains, one of which is at the time I asked for?" "My system only tells me about trains after the time I put in ..."
Frankly, pretty depressing; if National Rail enquiries doesn't admit to trains, and assures you that they are correct in stating that the service is a quarter of what it really is, what chance do we have of actually getting people to find out about and use the trains? My "helper" at National Rail Enquiries was also totally unable to tell me which trains in the London to Melksham directection off the super off peak fare, so it looks like (according to the letter of the terms and conditions) the 24.50 fare is unusable!
As a further follow up, I looked up fares from London Waterloo to Melksham via Salisbury, and the fare on all the trains in question for buy-on-the-day was 74.00 single, so that 'trick' doesn't work. Seems grossly unfair when London Waterloo to Trowbridge via Salisbury is 29.90! Although I don't want to suggest split ticketing (I really don't want guests to have to queue at Waterloo for a manned window and have to start explaining "and also a ticket from Trowbridge to Melksham please"), this does seem the most sensible option; the National Rail web site was giving me Melksham <-> Trowbridge times yesterday, but refusing prices "we cannot fulfill your request", but the return fare via that route will be within the 70 pound budget.
Thoughts / inputs would be welcome on:
a) Do you REALLY have to buy super off peak singles for out and back as the Ts and Cs say? How do the rail staff check you have done so?
b) Which train(s) can the super off peaks be used on from London to Melksham?
c) Am I being unreasonable in expecting the National Rail enquiry service to tell me about trains at 06:40 and 07:17 (and not that "19:47 is the only train that day") when I ask for morning trains from Melksham to London?
d) What justifies the difference in fares - 29.90 London to Trowbridge, but 74.00 London to Melksham?
and the biggie
e) Can anyone spot any better way of putting a Melksham Weekend schedule together for people who really don't use trains very often, and need a sensible and predictable price for their travel?
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