Eurostar fares - added on from Great Western starting point (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[John R]

It's not very well advertised, but if you have a Eurostar ticket, you can buy a special ticket (I believe it's a ticket to London International), which enables you to travel up to London at any time for the price of an off peak ticket. From Bristol I was quoted ^55 return, compared with a peak return of ^137.

Until such time as through ticketing in available, one to remember. I wonder how many have paid the full price because they don't know such a ticket exists?

[Ollie]

When you buy a Eurostar ticket I believe they should advise about this ticket. Whether they do or not is another matter.

[swlines]

They don't have to advise about the ticket at all.

On SWT^▸ (South West Trains) territory you have to show a valid Eurostar ticket to the ticket office before they will issue a ticket to London International CIV^▸ (International Convention for the transportation of Passengers).

CIV is basically the International Conditions of Carriage and if your FGW^▸ (First Great Western) or SWT or whatever train is late - it will allow you to get the next available train to the continent, rather than with advance purchase you would normally have to (E* are normally quite OK but this is worst case scenario) pay the open single to your destination.

Same applies with the return, if you have a Euro Apex^▸ (Advanced Purchase Excursion (fare)) Return, if the Eurostar is late, or the Tube is late, you can get the next available train...

[Ollie]

I'm more implying that it would be nice if when you buy the Eurostar ticket that you get advised. I'm not suggesting the national rail station just happens to ask, "not travelling on the Eurostar are you?"

[swlines]

That's the way it is I'm afraid.

The majority of people who travel on Eurostar will probably go to a ticket office prior to travelling though - just say "I'm travelling on Eurostar tomorrow and here is my ticket - is it possible to get a ticket to London International CIV^▸ (International Convention for the transportation of Passengers)?". If they don't know how to issue it then tell them it's NLC^▸ (National Location Code) 5470.

[Tim]

Most of the Eurostar cheap fares are for booking onlime.  If you buy your Eurostar ticket online to colelct it at St Pancreas is the booking confirmation print out suffiecnt for your local station to sell you a Cheap CIV^▸ (International Convention for the transportation of Passengers) ticket to London or do you need the full Eurostar ticket?

Also, if you are travelling from, say Scotland or Cornwall, spending a night in London and getting the Eurostar the following day are you still allowed to buy the CIV ticket?

Do you actually have to travel on the Eurostar for your domestic ticket to be valid or is it legal to use the Eurostar ticket merely to gain access to what is effectively an open return at the saver return price?

The CIV ticket is also available, I think, if you buy an international train/ferry ticket from Liverpool Street to Holland which would proably be cheaper than Eurostar.

The man at seat 61 has some info about this   www.seat61.com

[swlines]

Most of the Eurostar cheap fares are for booking onlime.  If you buy your Eurostar ticket online to colelct it at St Pancreas is the booking confirmation print out suffiecnt for your local station to sell you a Cheap CIV^▸ (International Convention for the transportation of Passengers) ticket to London or do you need the full Eurostar ticket?

On South West Trains you require the full ticket following a chap fiddling the system a few years back, buying Eurostar tickets, printing confirmation, cancelling, etc.

Also, if you are travelling from, say Scotland or Cornwall, spending a night in London and getting the Eurostar the following day are you still allowed to buy the CIV ticket?

Assuming that your train is not reasonably possible to get to in the morning, yes.

Do you actually have to travel on the Eurostar for your domestic ticket to be valid or is it legal to use the Eurostar ticket merely to gain access to what is effectively an open return at the saver return price?

You do not have to travel on Eurostar. You must have a valid Eurostar ticket.

The CIV ticket is also available, I think, if you buy an international train/ferry ticket from Liverpool Street to Holland which would proably be cheaper than Eurostar.

London International CIV is available to St Pancras and Liverpool Street although I've been told that it's been removed in recent years for Liverpool Street due to the boat trains not really being boat trains at all and just being all stopper 321s.

[grahame]

I'm travelling on Eurostar at 10:58 on Monday morning from St Pancras.   Through ticketed from St Pancras to my final destination in the Netherlands, but I couldn't find any system to sell me through ticket from Melksham or even Chippenham.

I understand there's an add-on available from my local station to St Pancras International, only to be used in conjunction with Eurostar.   Is this available walkup at Chippenham / on train from Melksham on Monday morning?

[eightf48544]

I've certainly bought such a ticket from Taplow it's around Off Peak price but valid anytime I certainly used it on a peak train into Padd it includes Undergound.

There's a special staion code for St. Pancras International, I think there's a thread on it  probably a few years ago.

[John R]

A ticket to "London International CIV^▸ (International Convention for the transportation of Passengers)" rings a bell - though not sure whether it is still available. You would need evidence of your travel on Eurostar to purchase.

[ChrisB]

That's the ticket - yes, I believe it's available, but only atstations that aren't linked directly with E* fares.

[grahame]

That's the ticket - yes, I believe it's available, but only at stations that aren't linked directly with E* fares.

Thanks, Chris, John R, 8F .. concensus is that I can buy on the way.  Where you say "at" stations, I wonder if that extends to buying on the train if joining at a station without a ticket office or TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) ...

[ChrisB]

Hmmm, not sure whether these tickets are loaded on the TMs^‡(resolve) machines....anyone?

[John R]

I believe in the past it was available from Bristol even though Eurostar add on fares were available from that station. One big advantage of the CIV^▸ (International Convention for the transportation of Passengers) ticket is that you get flexibility over journeys into and out of London. The through tickets mandate the connection time, and the only time I used them arrived back at Paddington in time for an earlier train which I wasn't able to board. 

It's a couple of years ago though, so hopefully someone can give more up to date information.

[eightf48544]

Funnily enough during a big tidy up looking for some tokens I was given at Xmas I came across the ticket

It's to London INTL [CIV^▸ (International Convention for the transportation of Passengers)]

It's called Euro Std Single

Validity 2 months. 

It's the CIV that's important.