I've looked at the routing guide but I must admit I can't figure out how the Nottingham/Derby/Loughborough triangle on the EM map actually applies to my trips.
You have already made significant progress with the
National Routeing Guide (NRG) if you have identified that the relevant
Map for a Nottingham - Leicester journey is Map
EM.
Permitted Routes for a Nottingham - Leicester journey are:
- the shortest route
- any route not more than 3 miles longer than the shortest route
- the route taken by a through train, if travelling on such a train
- any route which can be traced on Map EM without passing through the same station more than once (except within an intermediate Station Group, where it is Permitted to pass through the same station more than once)
- any route Permitted by an Easement
except for
- any route (other than the shortest route and the route taken by a through train) prohibited by an Easement.
Map
EM would normally allow:
- Nottingham - Beeston - Attenborough - Long Eaton - East Midlands Parkway - Loughborough - Barrow upon Soar - Sileby - Syston - Leicester.
But the list of
Station Groups shows that Long Eaton is a member of Derby Group, and the Group Stations rule on page 6 of the NRG
Instructions tells us that doubling back Long Eaton - Derby is allowed provided the stations in the Group are neither the origin nor the destination for this journey.
So Nottingham - Leicester via Derby journeys are Permitted. But the restriction in the Group Stations rule to doubling back
for interchange purposes only suggests that you could encounter difficulties if attempting to use a Nottingham - Leicester ticket for
trips between Nottingham and Derby.
