Crewe to Cheadle Hulme: have I been naughty?

[6Gman]

Right. I was in Crewe and needed to go to a meeting in Cheadle Hulme.

Day Return to Cheadle Hulme. Simple.

Well, journey planner gave a fastest journey via Stockport (at that particular time), so presumably my Cheadle Hulme ticket would be valid via Stockport. Correct?

But since I might be returning from Stockport I decided to buy a Crewe - Stockport ticket.

Travelled Crewe to Stockport. Block on at the subway, nodded me through. Went over to p.1 and caught my connection to Cheadle Hulme.

When my meeting finished there was a long wait for a train at Cheadle Hulme so I caught a bus to Stockport (three trains an hour to Crewe).

And as I stepped onto the train I suddenly thought, "am I being naughty here?" Was my outward ticket to Stockport valid for travel to Cheadle Hulme, via Stockport? Or had I, effectively, already used the Stockport - Cheadle Hulme part of my return ticket?

I can see a case both ways. Any comments?

 

[bb21]

When you reached Stockport, your outward portion expired there, so you have already used up the Stockport - Cheadle Hulme section of your return portion on your outward journey.

So, no, in theory you could only go directly back to Crewe on the return journey, and not via Stockport.

 

[6Gman]

When you reached Stockport, your outward portion expired there, so you have already used up the Stockport - Cheadle Hulme section of your return portion on your outward journey.

So, no, in theory you could only go directly back to Crewe on the return journey, and not via Stockport.

So how should I have regularised the matter? By a Stockport-Cheadle Hulme single, or an excess to the difference between the Stockport & Cheadle Hulme fares?

 

[yorkie]

Right. I was in Crewe and needed to go to a meeting in Cheadle Hulme.

Day Return to Cheadle Hulme. Simple.

Well, journey planner gave a fastest journey via Stockport (at that particular time), so presumably my Cheadle Hulme ticket would be valid via Stockport. Correct?

If you book a ticket online, it is valid in accordance with the itinerary. See Routes permitted by booking engines

So, providing you adhere to the itinerary, you are valid.

But since I might be returning from Stockport I decided to buy a Crewe - Stockport ticket.

Travelled Crewe to Stockport. Block on at the subway, nodded me through. Went over to p.1 and caught my connection to Cheadle Hulme.

OK, you started your return portion, ie Stockport to Crewe, and you broke your journey at Cheadle Hulme. That's fine.

When my meeting finished there was a long wait for a train at Cheadle Hulme so I caught a bus to Stockport (three trains an hour to Crewe).

And as I stepped onto the train I suddenly thought, "am I being naughty here?" Was my outward ticket to Stockport valid for travel to Cheadle Hulme, via Stockport?

Your ticket to Stockport was valid via Cheadle Hulme and you used the outward portion completely to Stockport. You also used the return portion between Stockport and Cheadle Hulme.

Or had I, effectively, already used the Stockport - Cheadle Hulme part of my return ticket?

Yes, you used that part of your ticket, and you re-used it.

 

[kieron]

So how should I have regularised the matter? By a Stockport-Cheadle Hulme single, or an excess to the difference between the Stockport & Cheadle Hulme fares?

NRE is happy to offer a Crewe-Cheadle Hulme-Stockport-Cheadle Hulme journey* on one ticket, but not a Crewe-Cheadle Hulme-Stockport-Cheadle Hulme-Stockport one.

Based on this, buying a Crewe-Cheadle Hulme ticket in the first place would have worked. I don't know if you would have been able to obtain an excess ticket for it.

It's hard to tell what the routeing guide is supposed to allow for this. Easement 700074 reads "Customers may double back when travelling between Cheadle Hulme and Stockport". While this sort of language usually covers what you can do with Cheadle Hulme-Stockport tickets, that would never have made sense here.

A Stockport-Cheadle Hulme single bought when you reached Stockport would have covered the journey you actually took.

* as ever with NRE links, you may need to delete any nationalrail.co.uk cookies before opening each link in order for it to work correctly.