Freedom of the South West/Weekend First

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Trying to establish whether you can use these in conjunction with a Weekend First Class upgrade.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) came back on Twitter within five minutes to confirm it is fine for their services

I emailed CrossCountry and they came back and told me Freedom of Scotland Travelpasses could not be upgraded.  
When I went back and reminded them I was asking about the FoSW they suggested I asked the station staff!

Anyone any the wiser?

[JayMac]

CrossCountry only explicitly disallow WF upgrade on their Standard Class Advance Purchase tickets.

The worst that should happen is that you'll be asked to move back into Standard.

Best policy is to ask the TM^▸ (Train Manager, or possibly Ticket Machine, depending on context) before, or soon after, boarding. Most, I'm sure, will be happy to sell the upgrade (commission- kerching!) if space permits.

I've upgraded on XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) in the past with a FOSS^▸ (Freedom of Severn & Solent rover ticket) Rover without problem.

EDIT: To add. The upgrade will only be sold for the part of a journey wholly with XC. If you were, for example, travelling from Cheltenham to Penzance and changing onto a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) at Taunton/Exeter/Plymouth you'd need to purchase another upgrade on the FGW service.

[bobm]

Thanks - good advice.

A supplementary question - is it specified anywhere how far in advance of the start date you can buy a FoSW?

[JayMac]

I believe that Rovers/Rangers can be purchased as far ahead as the Ticket Issuing System being used will allow. Much the same as any walk-up type ticket. How far ahead that is I know not. A question to ask FGW^▸ (First Great Western) directly I guess. Try @FGW on twitter or First Great Western on Facebook.

[RichardB]

I believe that Rovers/Rangers can be purchased as far ahead as the Ticket Issuing System being used will allow. Much the same as any walk-up type ticket. How far ahead that is I know not. A question to ask FGW^▸ (First Great Western) directly I guess. Try @FGW on twitter or First Great Western on Facebook.

I've got it in my mind that you can only buy a Rover ticket a week in advance.  It'll be interesting to see what answer comes back from FGW.

[old original]

I believe that Rovers/Rangers can be purchased as far ahead as the Ticket Issuing System being used will allow. Much the same as any walk-up type ticket. How far ahead that is I know not. A question to ask FGW^▸ (First Great Western) directly I guess. Try @FGW on twitter or First Great Western on Facebook.

I've got it in my mind that you can only buy a Rover ticket a week in advance.  It'll be interesting to see what answer comes back from FGW.

It should be available to buy up to one year in advance

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

There is no reason to get it in advance the station will sell it before travel or you can buy this on the train if you travel from an unstaffed station as the ticket is not on the self serve machine, just remember if you buy in advance and do not use the ticket you can have a refund but there is a ^10 admin charge, just to cover all bases you can get weekend first on this ticket on swt services within the valid area of the rover which costs ^5 per person each way, the upgrade is not available for advance ticket holders UNLESS they excess the ticket upto the cost of a normal walk up ticket then they can get the upgrade

[bobm]

Well the good news is you can buy it at least three weeks in advance. Was passing through Swindon station today and as there was no queue I bought one starting on 6th August.

One interesting point. They cannot give you a blue wallet to put it in anymore.  They are reserved for season tickets only apparently.

Did tweet FGW^▸ (First Great Western) on Friday to ask about advance purchase but it was nearly their going home time and they haven't replied as yet.

[JayMac]

One interesting point. They cannot give you a blue wallet to put it in anymore.  They are reserved for season tickets only apparently.

That seems a bit penny pinching and petty. Arguably a period rover is a type of season ticket. They're certainly covered by similar T&Cs in section 19 of the Conditions of Carriage.

[Chris from Nailsea]

One interesting point. They cannot give you a blue wallet to put it in anymore.  They are reserved for season tickets only apparently.

Hmm. If you'd care to PM me with your personal address details, I'll put a blue wallet in the post to you - no charge.  CfN.  

[bobm]

One interesting point. They cannot give you a blue wallet to put it in anymore.  They are reserved for season tickets only apparently.

That seems a bit penny pinching and petty. Arguably a period rover is a type of season ticket. They're certainly covered by similar T&Cs in section 19 of the Conditions of Carriage.

I think the clerk was a bit sheepish about it too. It does seem a bit silly when the rover is issued as two tickets which you have to keep together.

[Brucey]

One interesting point. They cannot give you a blue wallet to put it in anymore.  They are reserved for season tickets only apparently.

I asked for a new railcard wallet because mine had fallen apart at Harrow & Wealdstone.  I was issued the current London Underground MasterCard design with two very loose pockets that isn't very functional.

I later make exactly the same enquiry at Bedford who handed me a blue wallet.

Neither asked to actually see my railcard or the broken wallet.  I didn't buy any tickets at the same time either.

On a loose side note, I've recently obtained a smartcard from Southern.  This came in an attractive three pocket wallet with nice silhouettes of places they serve.  Good to see something showing my local area.