Getting from Gloucestershire to London

[whole diary]

[Dubbs]

Thanks for the info guys, I will look into this further and am now well armed with info to make a decision.

Ollie thanks for the advice on reserving seats as well.

[oxviem]

So there is a further option -

If you buy a ticket from Kemble to Cholsey and make use of an easement in the routing guide that allows you to travel via Reading....... Thus you would need just need a reading to london season.

This is as cheap as splitting at both did and cho but due to easment no need to change trains at Didcot nor any need for the train to stop at Cholsey.

Hope that helps

[Oxonhutch]

If you buy a ticket from Kemble to Cholsey and make use of an easement in the routing guide that allows you to travel via Reading....... Thus you would need just need a reading to london season.

I do not believe that would be kosher as your whole journey has a ticketing gap. And I don't mean discovery - I mean intent - when your whole journey is examined.

[JayMac]

I do not believe that would be kosher as your whole journey has a ticketing gap. And I don't mean discovery - I mean intent - when your whole journey is examined.

Where's the gap? Kemble to Cholsey is valid via Reading. Then Season from Reading to London.

[grahame]

So there is a further option -

If you buy a ticket from Kemble to Cholsey and make use of an easement in the routing guide that allows you to travel via Reading....... Thus you would need just need a reading to london season.

Welcome to the forum, Oxviem.   But I'm afraid I'm not sure the easement applies - it's this one:

700137
Customers travelling from Cholsey via Didcot Parkway in possession of tickets routed 'Any Permitted' may travel via Reading. This easement applies in both directions.

It clearly states "from Cholsey" (and by reverse means "to Cholsey too) but may not - to my reading - allow partial journeys on the double back.  Whilst break of journey is allowed on regular conditions / most tickets, an easement is an extension to the regular conditions and it might be argued that it doesn't allow intermediate stations.

[JayMac]

There's no break of journey here. Passengers may use two or more tickets for one journey as long as together they cover the entire journey and the train you are in calls at a station where you change from one ticket to another, or one of the tickets is a Season Ticket and the other ticket(s) is/are not.

My opinion is the entire journey would be covered by Kemble-Cholsey and Reading-London Seasons, provided the train one is on calls at Reading (so no catching the 0758 off Swindon or the 1742 off Paddington) whilst the easement quoted remains in place. 

However, one has to be confident and assertive should the train operator and/or it's front line staff say otherwise. And an eye needs to be kept on the Routeing Guide Easements as they change with alarmingly regularity without any notification to the travelling public.

Easy, but more expensive, life is to split the tickets at Didcot Parkway and use services that call there.

[grahame]

Customers travelling from Cholsey via Didcot Parkway ...

I remain unconvinced that the passenger is travelling from (or to) Cholsey ... so I remain unconvinced that the easement applies. I am also unconvinced by my own answer, or by bignosemac's answer which also has good logic behind it. Each answer looks sensible, but they reach different conclusions. You would need to be very brave to use this split on a demonstrably regular basis, unless you had prior official clarification that it was a valid use.

[ChrisB]

Agreed - while break of journey is permitted between A & B, I see nowhere to permit it at a station only reached by easement, and by continuing East from Reading, no intent to journey to Cholsey either. Thus easement could well be argued that it doesn't apply unless you continue to Cholsey.

I think you'd lose that one

[Richard Fairhurst]

There were two threads about similar issues on RailUK Forums (where the real fares geeks hang out!) a couple of years ago, and in both cases there was no consensus on whether it was technically legit. There was, however, a consensus that you might have issues with staff!

I agree with Grahame that "you would need to be very brave" to tackle this one. I also suspect that widespread use of the loophole would lead to the easement being withdrawn entirely.

[IndustryInsider]

(where the real fares geeks hang out!)

Not sure whether Bignosemac should take that as a compliment or not!

[Chris from Nailsea]

I am also unconvinced by my own answer ...

Hmmm. 

I have doubts like that about some of the tripe that I post on the Coffee Shop forum sometimes. 

[Dubbs]

So armed with the latest advice I've found the following pricing:

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Website

Kemble to Didcot Return ^62
Didcot to Padd Return ^60.60
Daily return = ^122.60

Kemble to Swindon Return ^26.80
Swindon to Padd Return ^125
Daily Return = ^151.80

Kemble to Didcot single ^31
Didcot to Padd Single ^30.60
Padd to Didcot Single ^30.60
Didcot to Kemble Single ^11.60
Daily Return = 61.60+42.20=^103.80

Kemble - Padd directs:
Weekly Season ^247.40
Monthly Season ^844.10
Annual ^8792

Kem-Did Weekly ^80.80
Did-Padd Weekly ^123.70
Weekly Season = ^204.50


Has anyone found anything cheaper or know of a cheaper way of doing it?  This is on the GWR website.

Cholsey sounds a stretch to far so won't try that option.

[grahame]

Kemble to Didcot single ^31
Didcot to Padd Single ^30.60
Padd to Didcot Single ^30.60
Didcot to Kemble Single ^11.60
Daily Return = 61.60+42.20=^103.80

Has anyone found anything cheaper or know of a cheaper way of doing it?  This is on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website.

Only 60p cheaper ...

Kemble to Didcot single ^31
Didcot to Padd Return ^60.60
Didcot to Kemble Single ^11.60
Daily Return =^103.20

[Dubbs]

So at 2 days a week the weekly option of Kem->Did, Did->Padd works out cheapest.

Which I guess will get cheaper as you go up the week-month-year options.

[Dubbs]

Bugger, I am sitting on the train having bought the Cholsey option as a weekly set and have just realised that sitting on this 1742 I'm in a bit of bother!!!!

When the inspector comes round what do I ask for to sort it out? A single from Padd to Didcot?

Can I take my ticket in to ticket office and get it changed and pay difference as am likely to be doing the 1742 several times this week!