Club 55 tickets

[whole diary]

[vacman]

you can travel to the North via the Marches this time though, i.e. truro to Manchester on same ticket

[JayMac]

I've called Customer Services and they confirmed to me that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) will be offering Club 55 from the 20th September to 30th November, with tickets going on sale form the 10th September. The advisor explained that tickets can be purchased through club55.co.uk.

Lets see if an advert goes up on the main FGW site and if the information on club55.co.uk (which is actually a sub page of ScotRail's main website) is updated......

[SDS]

POS (aka leaflets posters and the like) has been displayed all over PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains).

I might take my parents on a trip to weston super mud for that great value fair. (Oh wait I might as well use my fiver vouchers).

[Chris from Nailsea]

POS (aka leaflets posters and the like) has been displayed all over PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains).

Excellent!  Any chance of getting them displayed all over NLS, too?   

[Ollie]

I feel I need to clarify that I meant I would send the brief to super tm as says it's not been given..

[JayMac]

Nothing's changed on the websites overnight.

Called FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Customer Services again this morning to point out that I'd been told the promotion was going live on the 10th September for travel from the 20th. Advisor was able to get promotional fares using their telesales system but the tickets are as yet not available to purchase online.

Advice given was to book via telesales or in person at a station.

The issue of online sales is being looked into and I will update here as and when FGW get back to me. There is still no advertising of the promotion on any First Group TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) websites, excepting ScotRail.

[super tm]

Leaflets with a map of the area is available at Paddington station so it is definitely happening.

I seem to remember the last time FGW^▸ (First Great Western) did this there was a problem with the fares not being in the database and you could not actually buy a ticket for the first few days of the promotion.  Hope  the same thing is not going to happen this time.

[old original]

These tickets have been on sale since last Monday, leaflets out yesterday

[JayMac]

May well have been on sale since last Monday, but still unavailable online. First Group have made a right dog's breakfast of rolling out this offer.
Club 55 is now advertised on National Rail Enquiries, but if you want to buy online, at the moment, the only option are the Club 55 Premier (1st Class) fares for travel north of the border. And these are only available through WebTIS, not any First Group booking engine!

Poor show First.

[woody]

May well have been on sale since last Monday, but still unavailable online. First Group have made a right dog's breakfast of rolling out this offer.
 

Poor show First.

Well said bignosemac totally agree with what you said.Managed to get a club 55 leaflet Saturday and showed it to a guard on a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) on my journey home to Plymouth who knew absolutely nothing about the return of the club 55 offer.What a shambolic way to introduce it.

[Ollie]

Not sure what can be said regarding on train staff, but I read the brief on 27th August..

[SDS]

1.   Promotion overview
From Monday 20 September until Tuesday 30 November , FirstGroup will be running its first national rail promotion called ^Club 55^.
Club 55 offers customers aged 55 or over discounted return travel within England, Wales and parts of Scotland on all FirstGroup train operating companies, including First Capital Connect. First Great Western, First TransPennine Express and Hull Trains will run this joint promotion with Arriva Trains Wales.

2.   Travel validity
Club 55 is available to anyone aged 55 or over but customers must provide proof of age when they travel to validate their ticket. Acceptable forms of proof of age include:

^   Passport
^   Driving Licence (old format licences are accepted)
^   Birth Certificate
^   Concessionary Bus Pass
^   Senior Railcard

DO NOT  accept library cards, golf club membership cards etc.

Club 55 is only valid on the following operators^ services:
^   Arriva Trains Wales (ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))))
^   First Capital Connect (FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect))
^   First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western))
^   First Hull Trains (HT^▸ (Hull Trains))
^   First TransPennine Express (FTPE^» (First TransPennine Express - website))

Customers can travel anytime at the weekend.

Weekday morning restrictions
^   Monday to Friday customers can travel on all services except those due to arrive in London (St Pancras / King^s Cross / Moorgate from the North and Blackfriars from the South), York, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, or Manchester before 10:10
^   Club 55 is not valid on weekday Hull Trains services due to arrive in London before 11:00

Weekday evening restrictions
^   Monday to Friday customers can travel on all services except those departing London, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, or Manchester between 16:00 and 19:00
^   Club 55 is not valid on weekday Hull Trains services departing London between 15:00 and 18:00

Specific Services where Club 55 tickets are barred:
^   The 14:06 Paddington to Penzance (14:32 from Reading) Fridays only
^   The 15:06 Paddington to Penzance (15:32 from Reading) Fridays only
^   The 16:06 Paddington to Penzance (16:32 from Reading) Fridays only
^   The 17:03 Paddington to Penzance (17:31 from Reading, 17:48 from Newbury) Fridays only

3.   Fares
Fares are calculated by the number of zones travelled. The fares are already loaded into the system so when you select the origin and destination stations for the customer^s journey, the fare will be displayed.

Club 55 Standard Class and First Class tickets are available between any two stations on FTPE, HT, FCC, FGW. Please note ATW does not offer First Class on any of its services . Club 55 fares are as follows:

Description   First Zone    Subsequent zones
CLUB 55 STD    ^15    ^10
CLUB 55 STD (with railcard discount)   ^12    ^8
CLUB 55 FIRST    ^25    ^15
CLUB 55 FIRST (with railcard discount)   ^20    ^12

4.   Cross London journeys
Tickets displaying the ^cross-London^ marker (^) are valid for ^cross-London^ transfers. This means that customers will be able to use London Underground services to cross London to continue their journey.

Club 55 tickets are only valid for transfer between London terminal stations, and will only be accepted by London Underground on the date shown on the ticket (or up to the last day of validity for the return portion) and until 04:29 the following day.

5.   Issuing tickets and reservations
Customers who wish to purchase Club 55 tickets in advance can do so if they wish and tickets are not subject to availability. However, please make sure that customers are aware travel is not valid before 20 September.

^   Club 55 tickets can be issued on STAR, TRIBUTE, FasTIS, SHERE and AVANTIX Mobile machines using the ticket types below
^   Customers CANNOT  buy Club 55 tickets from ticket vending machines
^   Reservations are not required with Club 55. If a customer wishes to make a reservation, the following codes should be used:

Ticket Type    Description
55S    CLUB 55 STD
55F    CLUB 55 FIRST

There may be more than one valid route for the customer^s journey. Please advise customers of the options available so that they can make an informed decision about their journey. There may be occasions when a regular fare may be cheaper. Please advise customers of this. An example of alternative routes is below:

A customer wishes to travel from Selby to Bristol:
The customer can travel to London with Hull Trains and across to Bristol with Great Western for ^45 in Standard (4 zones) with route description ^GW^▸ (Great Western) & HT ONLY^. Alternatively, the customer can travel into Manchester with TransPennine Express, down to Newport with Arriva Trains Wales and finish their journey to Bristol with Great Western for ^35 in Standard (3 zones) with route description ^TP AW & GW ONLY^.

Please ensure the customer knows which operators their ticket allows them to travel with. Customers must travel with the train operators specified on their ticket and may use any reasonable route to complete their journey, regardless of what is usually considered ^permitted^.

6.   Discounts
Senior Railcard holders and Disabled Persons Railcard holders aged 55 or over are entitled to an extra 20% off Club 55 fares. To issue this ticket please select the relevant Railcard for the discount to be applied.

Club 55 cannot be used in conjunction with any other Railcard, Local Authority Concession Card or other rail promotional offers including GroupSave.

7.   Refunds and change of outward travel dates
A full refund is available on unused Club 55 tickets submitted within 28 days of the expiry date printed on the ticket, subject to a ^10 administration fee.

Customers may change their outward date of travel subject to a ^10 administration fee, provided the revised date is within the promotional dates. This should be done by refunding and rebooking the customer. Return travel should be made within one month of the outward travel date.

8.   Break of journey
Outward portions of Club 55 tickets are valid for travel on the date shown on the ticket. Where a passenger wishes to stop overnight or the journey cannot be completed within one day, break of journey for an overnight stay is allowed.

If a journey does continue into the next day, relevant time restrictions apply and travel must resume before 12:00. No further break of journey is allowed except for the purpose of changing trains.

Return portions of Club 55 tickets are valid for travel until 02:30 on the day following the last day of validity (i.e. one calendar month from outward journey). If a passenger is still travelling at 02:30, they may stay on the train to complete that part of the journey but no further break of journey is allowed and all travel must be completed by 12:00.

[ChrisB]

Club 55 is only valid on the following operators’ services:
•   Arriva Trains Wales (ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))))
•   First Capital Connect (FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect))
•   First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western))
•   First Hull Trains (HT^▸ (Hull Trains))
•   First TransPennine Express (FTPE^» (First TransPennine Express - website))

NOT valid on Scotrail then?.....!!

[ChrisB]

You can now book all First TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) Club55 from www.club55.com

Shame FGW^▸ (First Great Western) can't be bothered to advertise it though....

[Ollie]

Correct website: http://www.club55.co.uk