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Liverpool South Parkway to Hove 22/05/15

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gray1404

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Hi guys,

Some advise please on the best website to use to book online with advanced options.

I was able to book a £7.25 (with railcard) Advance (SN&LM Only) fare for travel this week and use my voucher. This is the itinerary I booked on: -

11.44 Liverpool South Parkway to Stafford 12.39 LM
12.56 Stafford to Milton Keynes Central 14.14 LM
15.13 Milton Keynes Central to East Croydon 17.00 SN
17.11 East Croydon to Hove 18.00 SN

I'm not sure how the guy in the booking office at Liverpool Lime Street got this one up. I am wanting to making the exact same journey again. However, when looking on Virgin Trains, thetrainline and East Midland Trains, the itinerary I am getting is as follows: -

11.44 Liverpool South Parkway to Birmingham New Street 13.18 LM
13.33 Birmingham New Street to Milton Keynes Central 15.04 LM
15.13 Milton Keynes Central to East Croydon 17.00 SN
17.11 East Croydon to Hove 18.00 SN

You'll notice this is changing at Birmingham New Street rather then Stafford. I would rather change at Stafford and go on the Trent Valley Line. I have used the above journey planners using AVOID Birmingham New Street, but when I click on the "show cheap/slower fares" at the bottom of the first set of results and then select "click for trains" against the £7.25 Advance fare, the system totally forgets that I entered BHM as an avoid point so is not bringing up the changing at Stafford results.

Two questions: -

1. is there any way I can get these desired results to come up on any of the journey planners (of course I would prefer one that didn't charge any fees on top).
2. If I was to go to a station to book this fare (bearing in mind the problems I've had last time) if there anything I can prompt the person serving me to enter into the system to bring up the desired results (in case they don't come up by default at LIV again).

Thanks!
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yorkie

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1. is there any way I can get these desired results to come up on any of the journey planners (of course I would prefer one that didn't charge any fees on top).
Yes, don't use a booking site run by that joke company, Thetrainline!

The Atos WebTIS sites - used by many of the Train Companies, including Southern and London Midland - offer it (specify via: RGL or avoid: BHM and under 'show slower routes' tick the Southern and London Midland options), as you say a station can offer it, and you may be interested to learn that some forum members have made a booking site called Trainsplit.com, which has the option to do a 'calling at' and up to 3 avoiding points. (specify calling at: RGL, avoid: EUS, and tick 'include slow trains')
Is Takethetrain.co.uk a good booking engine?
Ah, the frog one. It can be useful. Specifying via: RGL finds the fare.
 

gray1404

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Joined
3 Mar 2014
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6,574
Location
Merseyside
For the return journey though its a reservations coupen from Hove to Clapham Junction, another from Milton Keynes to Stafford and then another from Stafford to Liverpool South Parkway. So there is no point even trying to cross central London because your on a booked train from MKC - might as well use the SN stopper from Clapham Junction to MKC so you would just be hanging around if you got there any earlier.

The annoying thing is for the arrival into Stafford it arrives in at 1438 (and sometimes it is ealy) and there is actually a departure on LM to Liverpool South Parkway at 14.35 but sadly I have to wait until the 15.10 I think I am right in saying you can't board an earlier service you have a reservation coupon for when traveling on an Advance - even if your previous connecting service is early?
 

Hadders

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The annoying thing is for the arrival into Stafford it arrives in at 1438 (and sometimes it is ealy)

This is frustrating with the connection being lost when LM started running their Trent Valley services via Weedon rather than via Northampton.

In my experience you'd be lucky to make the connection, the incoming train is often held for a couple of minutes outside Stafford if it's early rather than arrive into the platform early. You've then got to dash over the bridge. I've heard guards making announcements saying the next Liverpool service is the xx10 and not the train sat in the platform over the bridge!

To be fair to LM if one person dashes over the bridge and makes it, the Liverpool train will then end up being several minutes late as someone else will them just make it and hold the doors while a companion dawdles along a couple of minutes later - the flood gates are then opened and the train will sit waiting for another 5 minutes while everyone boards.
 
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