Southampton airport stops by FGW - restrict Severn and Solent late from PMH?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

There's a service each way on the Cardiff - Portsmouth line that runs via Eastleigh (reversing there);  I've just had it brought to my attention that it now makes scheduled stops along the way.

The 19:30 from Cardiff (calls Westbury 21:02) calls at
   Southampton Airport  at 22:11 to 22:12
   Eastleigh at 22:17 to 22:24
and arrives at Portsmouth Harbour at 23:03

The 21:23 from Portsmouth Harbour calls at
   Eastleigh at 22:05 to 22:09
   Southampton Airport at 22:12 to 22:13
and arrives at Westbury at 23:29 (goes no further)

These service take about 12 minutes longer than services which take the direct route via Sholing, but make no stops on the direct line. They run Monday to Friday.

Previous advise when these trains did NOT call at Southampton Airport or Eastleigh was that Severn and Solen rover tickets (which are not valid between Eastleigh and Fareham on the route taken) SHOULD be accepted because it was a railway operational matter which didn't appear in the public timetable that the train went that way. Would it now be the case that the rover WOULD NOT be accepted for travel on these services?

P.S. - The idea of a direct train from Westbury and north thereof to Southampton airport is brilliant - just feel that the timing's not brilliant for people wanting to fly out.

[Network SouthEast]

The Eastleigh and Southampton Airport stops were added from the December 2014 timetable change.

The only reason the service takes 12 minutes longer is that they bith follow and wait for other trains. On a clear run, going via Botley (even taking in to account the reversal at Eastleigh) is actually quicker than using the Netkey line.

Running Portsmouth to Cardiff services via Eastleigh and Southampton Airport is something Network Rail have kept looking at over the years, but the issues of the reversal at Eastleigh, the flat junction and the single line section from Botley to Fareham mean that for anything other than late night and diverted services it just isn't possible.

[JayMac]

I maintain that travel on the line between Fareham and Eastleigh not being is valid with a Freedom of the Severn & Solent Rover (FOSS^▸ (Freedom of Severn & Solent rover ticket)). The area of validity map, as shown at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/promotions/Freedom_of_Severn_Solent.pdf, not including the line is an error by omission. The corresponding map for the Freedom of the South West, which includes the areas covered by the FOSS and Freedom of Devon & Cornwall, does include Fareham to Eastleigh.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s own literature includes Fareham to Eastleigh as being valid with a FOSS.
https://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/-/media/PDF/TicketsAndTrainTimes/TicketTypes/LeisureTickets/Rover%20Ranger%20Leaflet.pdf?la=en#page=12