Just to check whether I understood this. Wilf19 can do what he wants but it will cost him ^7.50 extra? (40 - 32,50).
Are these fancy maps available to the public?
What Wilf19 wasn't able to do with a Taunton to Romsey ticket was travel via Bristol. So we had to go looking for alternatives and I always try to ensure the alternatives are the same price, or not much more expensive. In this particular case, I think that Taunton to Romsey should be valid via Bristol, seeing as their are more journey opportunities that way, what with the service via Westbury having long gaps in the timetable or poor connections. Unfortunately the Routeing Guide disagrees, so we have to find a workaround that isn't too expensive.
Every pair of stations on the
UK▸ network has Permitted Routes that can be taken when using a ticket marked 'Any Permitted'. There may be more than one Permitted Route. There are also pairs of stations that may have fares that are only valid via a particular point en route, as is the case with the Taunton-Southampton (Route: Salisbury) fare I suggested to Wilf19. Those may also have more than one Permitted Route. Advance Purchase tickets don't come under the scope of the Routeing Guide as they are 'Booked Train Only' and you must follow the itinerary as booked.
First, an advertised through train is always on a Permitted Route, no matter what route it takes.
Second, the shortest route is always a Permitted Route, as is any route that up to 3 miles longer than the shortest route. Determining shortest routes isn't always easy however and even the automated systems can be tripped up by this.
If you wish to travel by a route that doesn't satisfy those two conditions then there are a couple of options open to you. You can follow the route on an itinerary given to you by a booking engine, or booking office clerk. Alternatively you can consult the Routeing Guide to determine all the Permitted Routes you can use. Or ask someone to consult it on your behalf. Although that's probably a fruitless exercise at a station. They'll just use their Journey Planner software which is based around fastest journeys, and even if via points are entered it is unlikely to give up all the Permitted Routes.
Your right to travel by a Permitted Route as defined in the National Routeing Guide is codified in the
National Rail Conditions of Carriage part 13(a)(iii), which is your contract with the Train Operating Companies.
Using the Routeing Guide is not easy. It's a fiendishly complex set of documents that took me many months of studying before I was confident enough to offer advice based on it. There is a third-part unofficial tool out there that may be of assistance in determining Permitted Routes, but even with that it's helpful to have read the Routeing Guide documents first.
That tool can be found here:
http://www.trainscanbecheaper.info/If you really want to immerse yourself in the National Routeing Guide then the set of documents can be found here:
http://www.atoc.org/about-atoc/rail-settlement-plan/routeing-guideGood luck with those documents. Fiendish doesn't begin to describe them.
I may look to compile a 'sticky' topic about the Routeing Guide on the 'Fare's Fair' board in the coming weeks. I'm hanging fire at the moment because
ATOC» are in the process of beta testing an online Routeing Guide that may be included on the National Rail Enquiries website.
In some ways, the old rule: 'Any Reasonable Route' was far easier. There's little doubt that the
OP▸ 's Taunton to Romsey journey via Bristol would be seen as 'reasonable' by most people. The problem with the old rule though was one person's definition of 'reasonable' was another person's 'taking the p***'. It was mainly for that reason that the National Routeing Guide was drawn up.
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