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Buying Advance tickets from a station that doesn't appear in the collection stn list

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trainophile

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Just wondered, if I find an Advance ticket online, can I then buy it at a station that doesn't have collection facilities for pre-booked tickets, i.e. station doesn't appear in the list of stations where pre-booked tickets can be collected from?

If so, how would I ensure that they sold me the ticket I had found (obviously assuming it had not been bought by someone else in the time it took me to get to the station)? Would they understand what I was on about if they are not used to handling Advance purchase tickets?

I'm thinking of a Merseyrail staffed station. Otherwise I'd have to travel to Liverpool Lime Street to pick it up.
 
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Simon11

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I'm not an expert but options depending on what day your travelling could be:

-If your visiting any stations before your trip with a TVM, you could set it to collect your tickets from that station
-Purchase the advance online and have it posted
-You should be able to buy your advance tickets from the booking office, however the fares may become more expensive due to advance fares going up as people book it but the ticket office should have no issue in selling these tickets.
-Depending on the TOC/Journey, you could do Print at Home tickets or use your mobile to buy a ticket/ use as a ticket
 

trainophile

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Thanks Simon. I'm not familiar with print at home tickets, are they suitable for all TOCs/routes?

Was just looking at my options in case I can't travel tomorrow due to the floods, and there is one "affordable" Advance left for Monday, which would suit me fine, but the only collection point listed within range is Liverpool Lime Street, which would mean me travelling there from Southport before Monday to collect it, so extra cost for that. No time to get the ticket delivered.

As it happens I think the forecast for this part of the country doesn't look too bad for tomorrow so I'll stick with Plan A and hope for the best. It just got me thinking though.
 

LexyBoy

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You can buy Advance tickets from any ticket office, if you specify the train there should be no problem getting the fare you've identified online.
 

trainophile

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Does southport have a TVM? It may be that it is just missing from the list.

It does, but not for collecting pre-booked tickets.

Thanks LexyBoy that's useful to know for future reference. I could even take my laptop down to the station to prove such a ticket exists!
 

Chris999999

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When can we expect TOCs getting to grips with print at home tickets? After all this is 20th century technology and we are already 12 years into the 21st century.

I have just bought tickets to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy for my holiday in September; all of them I have printed at home. The only tickets for my holiday I can't buy like this are the South West train tickets to London.
 

trainophile

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When can we expect TOCs getting to grips with print at home tickets? After all this is 20th century technology and we are already 12 years into the 21st century.

I have just bought tickets to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy for my holiday in September; all of them I have printed at home. The only tickets for my holiday I can't buy like this are the South West train tickets to London.

Presumably there would be issues with barrier controlled gates. Not sure how they'd overcome that, as they are still installing barriers in places aren't they? Joined-up thinking required!
 

ainsworth74

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Presumably there would be issues with barrier controlled gates. Not sure how they'd overcome that, as they are still installing barriers in places aren't they? Joined-up thinking required!

Barriers that are expected to deal with print at home tickets have barcode scanners built into them so you just scan the ticket on the scanner. Most on the ECML now have these I think due to EC operating a print at home system.
 

trainophile

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When they work of course. My Chiltern ticket didn't open the barrier at Moor St or Marylebone :lol:

My Merseyrail Saveaways hardly ever work the barriers. Annoying as I only buy them when I'm making a few journeys, so have to keep going through the motions of having the ticket rejected (because the gate staff won't believe me when I say it doesn't work) then fighting back through the crowd to use the manned gate.

Still, at least the bus driver doesn't insist I stick the ticket through a machine.

Also, at Liverpool South Parkway my Advance tickets will work for one set of barriers, but apparently *they are programmed not to allow the same ticket to be used twice in the same station*, so when arriving on P5 and departing on P1 I always have to ask the barrier staff to let me through the second set. *How daft is that, when they have two sets of barriers between the two platform areas?*
 

island

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Barriers that are expected to deal with print at home tickets have barcode scanners built into them so you just scan the ticket on the scanner. Most on the ECML now have these I think due to EC operating a print at home system.

Good when they work. But I've never managed to get the gates at [stn]NCL[/stn] to accept one.
 
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